GG The Lives We Live
by Death To Us
Summary: I ran towards him, jumping, and kicking both feet into his head. I landed on one foot but slipped, falling to the ground. A whitecoat standing in front of me brought a crow bar hard onto my back in the process. I jumped up and ripped the crow bar from his weak hands, shoving him into the wall. I cracked the bar down into his head and his partner next to him.
1. Chapter 1

_1_

Max POV

"We can't get out of here if there are guards everywhere!" Iggy yelled, punching the door to our oversize cage. It was an extra large cage, having plexiglass walls and a steel roof, floor, and door. We had been in here for three days, the scientists just keeping us here. They weren't doing anything, which made me both worried and relieved. Thank god that we weren't being experimented on, but what the hell were they planning?

"Iggy, calm down!" I stood up and put my hands on his shoulders, turning him around to face me. I hugged him tightly, him hugging me back, his head leaning on my shoulders. I patted his back. "We'll figure a way out of here, don't worry. As soon as that door unlocks, we're gone. Then you can nuke this place."

"I'm gonna nuke it three times over." He said, letting me go. He sat back down in the corner of the cage. I sighed and looked over at Fang, who was leaning against the wall of the cage, his arms crossed over his thin chest. I sat down next to him, him sliding down the wall and sitting next to me. It was only us three in here; Iggy, Fang, and me. The other three were in a similar cage across the room. I thought over what had happened those three long days ago. Ari had found us, knocked us out with drugs, then hauled all six of us back here. We never even got a chance to fight…

"Hey." I looked up at Fang as his dark eyes looked me over. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking." I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder. I watched as Iggy fell asleep against the wall, leaning into the corner.

"About what."

"Everything." I said and closed my eyes. We had been in here for three long days, it being the end of this day. We were all starving, exhausted, and extremely anxious. Fang took my hand and squeezed it, then let it go. He lay down on his side, closing his eyes.

"You might as well try and sleep." He muttered, sighing deeply. I looked down at him.

"How can I sleep when we're all hungry and trapped in a box at a school of death?"

"Trust me, I know." He sighed. I shook my head and lay down as well, trying to get some sleep. It would be a long fourth day tomorrow…

Fang POV

No matter how hard I tried, I just could not sleep. I opened my eyes and looked over at Max and Iggy as they slept. Sitting up, I cracked my knuckles and groaned lightly. I leaned against the wall of the cage and looked at Max. She was on her side like I had been, but was asleep. Iggy remained in the corner out cold. I folded my hands over my growling stomach, trying to ignore the terrible hunger pangs. I leaned my head against the wall behind me. It felt like my stomach was eating away at my ribs, but since there's nothing but ribs, it began eating itself. A slight movement caught my eye and I looked up at it. It was a whitecoat standing by the window, peering in at us. I glared at him, while I tapped Max's leg. She woke up instantly.

"What do you want?" She yelled at the whitecoat once she spotted him. Iggy woke up from the noise and stood up next to me as I walked up to the glass.

"Subject 2 is needed for testing." He said in a flat tone of voice. He needed me, I was subject 2. I looked over at Max out of the corner of my eye, her nodding. I heard the door unlock, my eyes flickering back to it. It cracked open, the whitecoat becoming visible. I saw my chance.

Max POV

The door opened a little further and then Fang charged, bashing his shoulder into the heavy steel door. It threw the whitecoat away onto the floor, Fang stumbling out of the cage. Emergency red lights flashed on, a loud screeching alarm going off. An emergency door slammed shut before Iggy and I had a chance of even running out. Fang was by himself in the lab room as a sea of guards and whitecoats flooded in. I could only watch. Fang jumped into the air, unfurling his wings just before the whitecoats reached him. He shot up into the metal beams that supported the buildings ceiling. He ducked behind the thickest one and looked down at everything.

"Shit, now what?" Iggy growled, kicking the door.

"Wait and hope that Fang finds the shut off switch." I said and he groaned loudly. I could see Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy all standing up and yelling at the whitecoats through the glass, banging their fists against it. I saw Ari rush in now, screaming orders to the whitecoats. Fang remained hiden against the thickest beam. He was pretty much trapped. Going down would either result in death or unconsciousness, staying put would escalate more problems and make the whitecoats bring out the big guns.

Fang POV

I was stuck. Chaos was going on below me, Angel and the others were yelling in their cage, and Ari was trying to kill me. I looked down and saw him below me now, jumping to try and snag me. He came close several times but I'd back off each time. Think Fang, you've been in this situation before! But maybe that was the whitecoats plan all along. We had been in that cage for 3 days, weakened from fatigue and hunger. We couldn't fight as well, couldn't think straight, and were exhausted. Maybe they were planning a slow and painful death for us. The room had ten whitecoats, Ari, and two huge guards in it, the other doors securely locked. If I could take them all out, I could maybe get a shot at freeing us all. But it would take a miracle for that to happen.

"Shit." I muttered and shifted my weight around to look at the room better. I'd take out the guards, then the whitecoats, then go for Ari last. I crouched down and jumped, unfurling my wings. I shot down, straight into the chest of one of the large guards, knocking him to the floor. He hit his head on the concrete, knocking himself out cold. I turned to the last guard but received a sharp blow to my stomach as he punched me with his steel studded fist. I nearly doubled over but I forced myself to round house kick him into the wall, leaving a massive dent. I then ran towards him, jumping, and kicking both feet into his head. I landed on one foot but slipped, falling to the ground. A whitecoat standing in front of me brought a crow bar hard onto my back in the process. I jumped up and ripped the crow bar from his weak hands, shoving him into the wall. I cracked the bar down into his head and his partner next to him.

"Fang! You're mine!" I heard Ari growl behind me. I whirled around but he slugged me in the side, throwing me onto the control panel by the cages. I jumped up and shoved whitecoats out of my way as they tried to block me. Ari was running towards me, shoving them out of his way as well. I jumped into the air, flying back up to the ceiling to take a breather. My side was killing me. I lifted up my shirt and saw the bruised area, a couple broken ribs showing up. I groaned and looked down at Ari. I raised the crow bar and threw it at him, it bouncing off of his thick skull. He howled as it skinned his nose and left him dazed. I took a deep breath and jumped, landing on his back, my arm hooked around his neck. He tried to grab me in a frenzy panic, his claws ripping into my back. I held on as tight as I could, not daring to let go. My legs were wrapped around his torso, my one arm around his neck, my other arm hooked onto my elbow for extra strength. As I squeezed, he fell to his knees. I pushed him over the rest of the way so he was face first on the ground. But just as I was going to knock him out, I felt the crow bar smack down onto my back hard, a whitecoat wielding it. I jumped up and punched the guy in the face, grabbing the bar. I swung it down onto Ari's head hard, knocking him out finally.

"Look out!" I heard Max yell and I ducked as a desk flew towards me. I clipped my arm, nicking it. It turned to face one of the large guards, the one I hadn't knocked out yet. The half robot man ran towards me. My crow bar would be no match for him, I ran the other way. I tripped a whitecoat on the way, using him as sort of a speed bump for the guard since they couldn't jump. I watched it tumble to the floor, crushing the whitecoat under him. The remaining whitecoats all looked at me, I was surrounded. I held my crow bar still, but was very tired, panting hard. I looked at the control desk, the button to unlock the cages glowing green. I then ran towards a whitecoat, tackling him to the ground. I punched his lights out and then got up, kicking another ones throat. I ran towards the control panel and just as I was about to smash my fist onto the button, a tank like object rammed itself into me, knocking me to the floor. I hit the wall, partially smashing through it. I looked up as the plaster fell on top of me, Ari barreling towards me. The remaining whitecoats high tailed it out of the room as they went for backup. The wall Ari had smashed me through was the brick wall that was the outside of the buildings structure. I could see the trees through the hole. I scrambled back up and jumped towards the button. Just as my crow bar hit it, Ari tackled me, getting me into a choke hold. The alarms buzzed, the doors to the cages swinging open.

"Fang!" I faintly heard Max yelling, but my vision was blurring as Ari tightened his grip on me. I tried anything I could to get him off but nothing was working. I could feel the skipping of my heart as it began to give out on me, it pounding against my ribs. I felt my eyes roll up in my head, everything turning black…

Max POV

I jumped on top of Ari at the same time Iggy did. I hauled him off of Fang, Angel and Nudge kicking and punching his chest. I had a choke hold on him now, Iggy pulling Fang's unconscious and battered form away. Ari roared and punched Angel, sending her flying. Iggy jumped back up and kicked Ari so hard in the chin that his head snapped up, bashing into my own. Stars exploded in my skull, making me lose my grip on Ari as he fell to the floor. I stood up, shaking the stars away from my vision. Angel and Gazzy were kicking their way through the partially blown out wall, Iggy had picked Fang up somehow. I ran out the hole and led the others through. Iggy and I clumsily took to the air, holding Fang between us. All of us would fly as far as we could, then land.

…

We landed in a large pine tree once me and Iggy couldn't hold Fang for any longer. The kids landed, Iggy and I leaning Fang against the crook of a branch. He was in bad shape. The dust from the plaster and brick wall had covered him, making him look chalky and collecting in the cuts on his face. Purple bruising was showing up around his neck, the claw marks from Ari still bleeding. Iggy had taken his pulse, we had gotten to him just in time. Any longer and we may have lost him. He had broken ribs, a cracked collar bone, and lot of cuts and bruises according to Iggy. He was out cold because Ari had choked him nearly to death.

"Hey." I patted his knee as I saw his eyes start to flicker open. His eyes opened fully finally and looked at us.

"What'd I miss?" He asked, looking around. "Did we get out?"

"Yeah, but Ari did a number on you." I said as he looked down at his side, pulling his shirt up. He groaned and looked back up at me, letting his shirt fall back down.

"We'll head into town in the morning, we need to sleep first." Iggy said, leaning against the tree. "If we really need to, we can always go back to Valencia's."

"Good idea, Ig." I said and looked back at Fang. His dark eyes met mine, and I thanked god that nothing more serious had happened to him. Ari could have killed him so easily.


	2. Chapter 2

_2_

Max POV

During the night while everyone slept, I made the decision to head back to Valencia's. Everyone was starving, exhausted, and Fang was hurt. It would be best for everyone to just head to an area where they could sleep, eat, and recover from the weeks hardships. I stretched, cracking my shoulders. Fang was asleep against the crook of the tree branch across from me. He still had cuts from the fight earlier but at least he made it out alive.

"Max?" I heard Angels voice ask me from above in her own tree branch. I looked up at her as she leaned down to look at me. "Can't we just go to your moms place?"

"We are, I've already decided." I said and she nodded, leaning back into her branch again. It was around 6 am, the light was beginning to appear and flicker into our tree. I looked over at Fang, who was awake, watching the sunset.

"How could something so hot be so cold?" He asked, zipping his jacket up tighter. The night had been cold, the sun bringing no warmth as it rose.

"I dunno, come on. Get everyone up, we're headed to Martinez's." I said and he nodded, standing up. I stood up, tapping Angels leg to wake her. Fang had climbed up into the next tree and had woken up Gazzy and Iggy. "Up and at 'em, we're leaving!"

"To where?" Gazzy asked.

"To my moms house, you know, cookie lady." I said and his eyes lit up.

"Dr. Martinez!" Nudge said excitedly. "I can't wait to have cookies."

We all jumped out of the trees and took to the air. Luckily, it would only be a half hour flight till we got to moms. I looked back at Fang who was at the back of everyone.

"You ok?" I asked him and his dark eyes looked up at me.

"Yeah, just tired." He said and looked at the others.

"I know the feeling." I said and flew alongside him, matching his wing beats with my own. "I want mom to check your side, I don't want anything bad to happen. She's a vet, it's convenient medical care."

"I've had this multiple times." He argued.

"I don't care, I'm taking advantage of having a doctor around that's not evil." I said and he rolled his eyes. I flew back up to the front.

…

We landed at the time we expected. It was early but mom would let us in, she had never denied us before.

"Mom!" I banged on the door, waiting for a few minutes. I could hear her hustling towards the door.

"Max? Its early." She said, but still pulled me into a hug once she opened the door.

"I know, but it was kinda an emergency. We just broke out of the lab." I said and she frowned, ushering us all into the house.

"Is anyone hurt?" She asked, looking us over.

"Yeah, we think Fang's got some broken things." I said and she looked over at him. She waved a hand, motioning for him to follow her. I followed behind Fang as he followed her into another room in the house, this one with a bigger table and drawers along the walls. She had him sit on the table as she went to go get gloves.

"What happened?" She asked as she lifted up his shirt, spying the bruise. She very softly touched the area, Fang growing tenser. I stood next to him. "You have a couple broken ribs."

"That's what we thought. His arm hurts to move too." I said, Fang glancing towards the door.

"That's because he fractured his collar bone." She said, running her hands over it. As soon as her hands left him, Fang relaxed some. "You should take it easy for at least a week."

"That's reasonable." I said, Fang instantly getting off the table.

"Are you guys hungry? You seem pretty thin, god only knows what they're feeding you guys at that lab." She shook her head. I followed her out of the room and into the kitchen again.

"We're starving." I said, sitting down at the table where everyone else was. She sighed.

"You'll have to wait a little longer I'm afraid. I haven't gotten anything baked yet." She sighed, opening the fridge. I felt like I was going to faint from hunger, all of us did. Nudge shifted in her seat, Gazzy was leaning his chin on the table looking around, Iggy was sitting in his chair, his hands leaning on the table, Angel was talking quietly to Gazzy, Fang was watching mom carefully. I felt my stomach growl painfully.

…

Fang POV

We'd have to wait a bit longer before we could eat since Martinez was still making food. I was laying on the couch, my eyes closed, but was in tune to everything. I could hear Max and Iggy talking, Martinez cracking eggs into a pan, and Iggy sitting down in the spot at my feet. I opened my eyes and looked at him as he leaned into the couch, closing his eyes.

"I know we've been really hungry before, but I think this may be the first time I can hear your stomach growling, Fang." He said to me, I glared at him, which was wasted.

"Not my fault." I sighed, closing my eyes again. "We haven't eaten in 4 days, what did you expect."

"Its fine, man. I'm only trying to lighten the mood." He sighed. We had been here an hour, Martinez was still making food. The smells were torturing, I was starving. Figuratively and literally. My side was aching too, I couldn't even breathe properly. Times like this made me just want to disappear, pretend I didn't have this life. I could wear down and quit, but I have to be strong for my family…

"Hey guys, foods ready." Martinez said, laying out the heaps of food onto the table. Everyone got up instantly and rushed to the table, grabbing a plate. I got up, my head feeling fuzzy. I sat down at the table, almost feeling sick to my stomach. Max nudged me as she noticed.

"You ok?" She asked and I looked over at her. I nodded. I'd probably feel better once I got food into my system.

…

We all sat on the couches, feeling full finally, and very tired. I lay down on the large couch, folding my hands over my stomach. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes. I felt a little better but I still felt cold, even though my skin felt hot. I couldn't get sick now, not with us having to move around so much. I felt pressure next to me and opened my eyes foggily. Max was laying down next to me, putting an arm over my chest. I closed my eyes again, too tired to care. She lay down, I enjoyed her extra warmth. I vaguely remember feeling a blanket being put over us.

…

Max POV

I lay down next to Fang, squeezing into the space between him and the couch back. He felt hot, like he had a fever. I pulled a blanket over us, my hand over his chest. He didn't even respond. I sighed, hoping that he'd be ok when he woke up again. I could feel his rapid heartbeat, like all of ours, thudding in his chest, right under my hand. I leaned my head on his shoulder, finding a comfortable position. I could hear his breathing slow down as he fell asleep. I closed my eyes and let myself drift to sleep as well. We all needed it.


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

…

Max POV

I woke up around 3, we had been asleep for 8 hours, and were hungry again. But mom had thought ahead for us, making a huge lunch. I was still under the blanket with Fang, who was still asleep. All the others had gotten up and were eating at the table. I leaned my head on his shoulder again, thinking whether or not I should leave and eat, or stay here in this warm place. My stomach growled, answering my question for me. I slowly got up, keeping the blanket over Fang. I got off the couch best I could without waking him, and walked over to the table. Mom had made tacos somehow, probably from a cook book. I quickly ate, finishing in mere minutes like the others. They were all heading back to the couch to sleep again. Today would be us mainly eating and sleeping, catching up on all of our basic needs. I looked over at Fang who was now awake but still on the couch, the blanket still over him. I stood up and walked over to him, crouching so I was eye level.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked and his eye flickered open, looking at me. I raised my hand, feeling his forehead. He had a fever. I took my hand away and he closed his eyes again, sighing slightly. "Don't you want to eat?"

"Not hungry." He mumbled, his eyes still closed.

"How can you not be hungry?" I asked him and he lightly shrugged.

"I don't feel hungry." He opened his eyes, looking at me again. But his gaze shot past me as mom walked up behind me. I could see the slight change in his eyes as he watched her carefully, her hand feeling his forehead.

"You'll need to eat Fang, you're already thin as a stick." Mom said and he only watched her.

"I'll eat when I get hungry." He said, his tone of voice sounding almost like a threat to me. As mom walked away, his eyes softened again, closing.

"You don't need to like her, but at least try to be nice." I said, patting his shoulder.

"Says you." He muttered.

"Says me." I sighed, getting back into the couch beside him again. I got under the blanket and welcomed the warmth again. I got into my former position, laying my arm over his chest. I closed my eyes, letting sleep take over me once more.

…

We didn't wake up again until 9, dinner waiting for us on the table. Fang was still asleep, still had his fever. I sighed, getting up off the couch for the second time. I crouched down, lighting rubbing his shoulder. His eyes opened halfway, looking at me. He looked tired.

"Sup." He muttered, blinking hazily.

"You gotta eat dinner, come on." I said quietly and he paused for a moment.

"Fine." He said, pulling the blanket off of him. He sat up and stretched, his wings slightly unfolding behind him.

"Come on Fang, you may not be hungry but I can't have you not eating." Mom said, setting his plate in his spot for him. He stood up and walked to the table, sitting down. I sat next to him and started eating, everyone doing the same.

"Are you sick?" Gazzy asked, looking at Fang.

"I dunno." He answered, finishing the rest of his food. He leaned against the chair, looking over at mom.

"You should sleep in your bed tonight, Fang. It's probably more comfortable up there." Mom said and he nodded, her taking his plates. Once everyone finished and said good night, we all headed upstairs into our rooms. I followed Fang into his.

"You ok?" I asked him as he sat down on the bed.

"Yeah, just weird feeling." He said, leaning back and flopping onto the bed.

"I think it's just you trying to recover from the past few days. We were starving, and then you got hurt while fighting all those guys, it was a bit of a shock to your system." I said and he nodded, closing his eyes.

"I'll sleep like a rock tonight." He said.

"Why is that?"

"I'm so tired." He said. "Thank god we stopped here."

"Yes." I smiled, opening his door. "Good night."

"Night." He called out, and I shut his door. I headed to my own room, locking the door behind me. I was so tired…


	4. Chapter 4

_4_

Max POV

During the night, I woke up and felt restless. I tossed and turned in the soft bed, but I couldn't do anything about it. I missed the others actually, the feeling of being alone in my room, the door locked for privacy, it didn't feel right at all. I sat up in the bed, swinging my feet over the edge. I opened the door, heading down the hall to Fang's bedroom. I slowly opened the door, it lightly creaking. I saw Fang asleep in the bed, facing towards me on his side. His eyes opened, locking onto me, the moonlight reflecting through them.

"Max." He said, sitting up. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep." I said, walking over to his bed. The room was dark, the only light being the moonlight coming in through the window. Fang got out of the bed, standing up on the carpet, stretching. His wings unfolded as far as the room would allow. He was shirtless, but had on black sweatpants. His jet black wings folded up against his back, him turning around to look at me.

"I know the feeling." He said, meeting my eyes.

"How's your side?" I said, glancing towards the bruise. He looked down at it. The 4 days we had been stuck had done a number on us; we had all gotten thinner if that was possible. I could see the outline of Fang's ribs, the couple broken ones covered by a dark bruise.

"Bit better." He said, looking out the window. "Still sore though."

"I thought so." I said, sitting down on the bed. He walked over and sat down next to me.

"You wanna sleep in here with me? I'd like the company." He said and I nodded. He lay down on his back, the extra soft mattresses allowing us to sleep on our backs even with our wings. Mom had custom ordered them for that purpose. I lay down next to him, my head leaning on his chest. He pulled the covers over us, the warmth instantly covering me. I sighed, closing my eyes. I listened to Fang's strong heartbeat, right under my ear.

"Night." He said, his voice resonating through his chest. He closed his eyes, an arm wrapped around me. I relaxed and soon fell asleep…

…

I woke up in the morning, still with Fang and laying on his chest. The blankets were comfortably pulled over us, trapping the warmth. The clock on his nightstand read 10 am. I looked up at Fang who was still asleep, his steady breathing comforting. He looked better this morning than he did yesterday. The bruises and cuts had all but faded, the only injury remaining from that hard day was the broken ribs. I leaned my head against him again, closing my eyes. The smell of pancakes was wafting into the room though, making me hungry again. I could hear Fang's stomach growling, him lightly shifting under me. I looked up at him, his eyes on the door. He looked down at me then, a small smile forming on his face.

"Good morning." I said, closing my eyes again, not wanting to get up.

"Morning." He said and then yawned, stretching his arms, cracking them. "I think your moms making pancakes."

"Mmhmm, and you sound hungry for them." I said and looked back up at him, his eyes watching me.

"I am." His eyes glanced over at the clock. "I'm hungry."

"We overslept, maybe that's why." I said, sitting up.

"Maybe." He said, and slowly rolled out of bed, standing up by the nightstand. He grabbed his shirt off the nightstand, slipping it back on. He moved his wings through the slits in the back, ruffling them as he folded them back up.

"We should head downstairs then." I said, walking past him. He followed me downstairs and into the kitchen where the others were eating.

"Oh, Fang, I'm glad to see you're up and about again. You had me worried yesterday." Mom said and I watched as Fang watched her closely, sitting down next to me at the table. I nudged his side, trying to get him to relax.

"What's your plan for the day?" Mom asked us, sitting down next to Angel.

"Fly around, rest up, we'll probably be out of here by tomorrow." I said and she nodded, a sad look coming over her.

"I just thought that you may want to stay a little longer, you guys seemed so tired and hungry when you first came in." She said and I nodded, glancing over at Fang as he brought his empty plate to the sink. He walked past me, brushing my shoulder as he went. He lay down on the couch, rolling over onto his side. It made me sad to think that we really were on the run. We ate meals in seconds because of the countless times we had gone hungry, slept in trees because it wasn't safe anywhere else, and had to leave the perfect rest stops because of people hunting us down.

"I'll be out swimming." Iggy said, dragging Gazzy along with him. They headed out to the back yard, towards the pool.

"We'll be out flying soon, don't go far." I said and they shut the door behind them. I looked back over at Fang, him getting up off the couch and walking over next to me.

"How's your side?" Mom asked him and he hesitated for a second.

"Better." He said. I stood up, bringing my plates to the sink and then nodded towards Fang. He followed me out to the backyard, the others following me. Mom sat in a lawn chair by the pool, binoculars in her hands.

"Finally." Fang muttered and then jumped, unfurling his wings. He shot into the air, a rush of wind blowing past me. Mom watched him through the binoculars.

"It really is amazing." She said quietly. I sighed and watched him fly higher and higher, coasting past the sun, leaving his shadow across the ground. Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, and Angel were all in the pool, I sat down in the lawn chair next to mom. She was fascinated with Fang as he flew. I watched him dive and soar around, enjoying the open air. He seemed more at home in the air, just free flying at will. I watched him fly high into the sky and then stop, hovering for a few seconds. He then rolled over, diving straight down, his wings tucked in against his back. He came closer and closer to the ground, mom leaning forward as she started to get worried. I watched Fang confidentially, knowing that he knew what he was doing, but couldn't help but feel a little worried. He came closer, and closer, within 50 feet of the ground. He suddenly snapped out his wings, rocketing past us all, soaring back into the air. We had trained ourselves to deal with those kind of G's over time. One wrong move, and Fang could have hit the ground at 250 miles an hour.

"How long have you guys been doing this?" Mom asked, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Long enough. He knows what he's doing, don't worry." I smiled to mom and she only nodded. I watched Fang climb back up, leaning back and just falling upside down, his wings fully out. He then rolled over, coasting the rest of the way down. He back beat his wings hard, landing neatly next to the edge of the pool. He walked towards us, his wings still fully out as he let them cool down. He stood in front of me, his wings slowly folding back up neatly.

"You scared her." I smiled and he smirked, extending his right wing completely out. Mom only watched as he reached its full length of 7 ½ feet and 6 feet wide. He extended his left wing the same way, stretching the muscles. It always felt really good, but he was doing it for the purpose of impressing mom, as well as sizing her up. I knew he didn't trust her, the look in his eyes always proved it. He was proving that he was stronger and faster by extending his wings in front of her like this, a threat to not mess with him. Mom smiled at him, standing up. He eyed her, her hands reaching out to touch his wing. I stood up and walked over to him, moms hands touching his wing, running along the feathers. He moved them back a little, folding them up slowly.

"Such amazing structure." She smiled and then walked past us, to the edge of the pool. Fang looked over at me, the light breeze blowing his dark hair over his eyes.

"Try to relax, she's my mom." I patted his shoulder and he turned, walking out a little and then jumped, unfurling his wings once more, rocketing into the air. I stood next to mom as she watched the kids play. Iggy had flown up high enough and had tucked his wings in, dropping like a rock into the pool, making a huge splash. It still amazed me as to how he could fly perfectly even though he was blind. I then saw Fang fly up behind me, tuck his wings in at the last second, dropping into the pool right in front of us. It splashed us both with a massive wave, his full intention. He swam back up and flashed a smile as he saw us both soaked.

"Show off." I said and he only grinned. We'd stay here for today, then head out tomorrow. I'd enjoy today while it lasted…


	5. Chapter 5

_5_

Max POV

In the morning we all took off into the air, leaving moms house for good. She stood on her porch and waved at us as we flew away, flying higher than the clouds. We'd make our way to California, the place where the largest Itex building was located. We had learned this from experience, as well as pure chance. Monsoon season in Arizona was already in full swing, the sky dark and heavy with storm clouds. We'd be lucky if we got out of here dry. We had already talked over the plan multiple times back at the house. Because California was somewhat close to Arizona, we'd fly through the day and night, stopping in California to sleep and rest. We may have a few stops for food along the way, but not more than maybe 2 or 3. I didn't want to waste any more time than we needed to.

Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge all flew together, talking about their plans for when we'd return to moms again. Iggy flew up in front, listening in on kid's conversation. Fang flew next to me in the middle, quiet as usual. We had been flying for a few hours; everyone still seemed to be going strong at least. We had just passed over the Arizona border and were now flying through New Mexico. We'd stop once we reached California. We'd sleep for the day at a motel, make our battle plan, then attack when we were ready.

…

…

…

Hours passed. We had been flying through the entire day, not even landing once. The kids looked worn out, we were all starving. I looked over at Fang who was still flying steady. We were close to California, not more than a few minutes away now.

"We'll stop at the motel soon." I said and he nodded, glancing over at me. His dark eyes looked tired, even with him trying to hide it. I looked over at everyone as they flew. We had to slow down some, the kids were getting pretty tired. We had pretty much done a straight shot from Moms to California in 12 hours. I saw the building coming up, relief washing over me. I dipped down, landing behind the building. Everyone followed my lead as I walked into the building, it being 1 am.

"I room." I said, panting slightly. I took the key and we all headed up to the bedroom. I was so tired, but also so hungry. I was debating on whether or not we should just sleep now and then eat tomorrow.

"Ok guys, here's a question. Do you want to sleep now and then eat tomorrow? Or do you want to eat now and then sleep?" I asked, flopping down on my bed. Fang and I would share a bed, Iggy and Gazzy would share the other, Angel and Nudge getting the fold out couch. Everyone voted that we sleep now, surprisingly. I groaned, pulling the covers over my head. I felt Fang lay down next to me, pulling the blankets up as well. I heard everyone get into their beds, the lights flicking out. I leaned over onto Fang, closing my eyes, breathing in his scent. We had flown for 12 hours nonstop, we were exhausted.

"We'll eat tomorrow, I'll order room service." I said, only Fang being awake now, but barely.

"Mmhmm." He closed his eyes, folding his hands over his stomach. "We clocked some serious hours."

"Yeah." I yawned. "But was it worth it?"

Fang paused, looking up at the dark ceiling. His stomach growled, loud enough for me to hear. "Maybe." He answered finally.

"You'll be ok." I patted his shoulder and then closed my eyes again. We lay there, sleep slowly taking us over. I could hear Fang's rapid heartbeat slowing down as he fell asleep, his breathing deepening and steady. We'd eat a ton tomorrow, then sleep it all off. I was almost as hungry as Fang, but his quietness couldn't hide it this time. He sounded like he was starving, which I guess we all were. I felt myself slipping into a deep sleep…

…

I woke up from a knock at the door of our hotel room, making me snap open my eyes, looking around. No one else was awake except for Fang who was sitting at the end of our bed, looking over some maps. His gaze was trained on the door now though.

"Hello?" A females voice called out, the maid.

"Not now." Fang said loud enough for her to hear. She moved on. I groaned, stretching and sitting up in the bed. Fang looked back down at the maps, his back to me. I leaned over him, resting my chin on his shoulder, looking at the maps as well.

"How's this going?" I asked and he sighed deeply.

"Not very well, I can't think straight." He said, groaning slightly. "It's all a bunch of jumbled words and lines."

"It's probably because you're starving." I said and he glanced over at me. I patted his back and leaned over to the phone, pressing the room service button. I ordered six full house meals, each of us getting three pancakes, a pile of eggs, toast, and hash browns. Each plate was big enough to feed three people. I hung up the phone and sat down next to Fang again.

"You ok?" I asked, him just watching the map.

"Yeah." He said, his gaze looking up at me. He looked tired still, his normally clear and dark eyes being slightly clouded over. His gaze looked past me and towards the door as there was a knock. I looked around. Room service already? I stood up and looked through the doors small eye glass hole thing. I then opened the door, allowing the two women to roll in the carts full of food. I ushered them out, locking the door again. The smell of the food had woken everyone up and they were all gathered around it now. Fang took a cart and pulled it over to our bed, sitting down on it.

…

By the time an hour had passed, every single speck of food was now gone. We were all laying on our beds half asleep, finally not hungry anymore. Fang had wolfed down his in seconds, beating me by miles. I was now under the covers with him, the warmth consuming us. I let sleep take me over, finally feeling ok…


	6. Chapter 6

_6_

Max POV

We slept for hours on end, raking up all the Z's we could possible get. Fang and I would occasionally wake up and review over the maps, making small adjustments to our big plan. We didn't have much but it was getting there. We'd attack in the night so we had more of an advantage getting away afterwards. We wanted to take out the school as fast as possible, that means we'd have to set off bombs or fire inside to quicken the burn pace. So we had the plan of Iggy and Fang going inside, Fang fighting off everything while Iggy planted the explosives. Gazzy and I would be fighting off anything that tried to get into the building from outside. Nudge and Angel would be setting flames to everything in sight, releasing any experiments in the process. It would create chaos, the perfect cover up for us.

I looked up at Fang, who was still asleep. The long flight had taken its toll on everyone. It was already 3 pm, we had eaten breakfast a while ago, I was hungry again. I sat up, stretching my arms free of any stiffness. I looked back at Fang who had just opened his eyes, looking over at me.

"Good afternoon." I said and he nodded, glancing back out the hotel window. "I'm gonna order room service. Then we can figure out any more details on this plan."

"Sounds good." Fang said, stretching. He then got out of bed, heading to the bathroom to take a shower. I ordered the food all up, it would be here in minutes. I heard the water turn on as Fang started up the shower. Iggy was flopped onto his stomach, drooling onto his pillow in his sleep. Gazzy and Angel were lying on the couch, cuddled up together, Nudge was actually curled into a ball in the corner between my bed and the window. I sighed, sitting down in the chair by the desk. We'd start our plan tonight. Either we took down the school or died trying.

…

I looked over at Fang, him crouching in the tree next to me. He was nearly invisible, the night surrounding him, enveloping him in its shadows. Iggy was next to him, getting the explosives ready. The school was in front of us, the moon climbing higher so its eerie light shined over the building. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were in the tree branches above me. Fang glanced over at me, his eyes reflecting the moons light.

"Good luck." I whispered, him nodding and looked back at the building. He then silently jumped out of the tree, his wings unfurling. He coasted down to the building's roof, Iggy landing silently next to him. They'd plant some bombs on the roof, and then jump down through the sun roof into the building. By that point, Gazzy and I would be inside fighting people off. I gave the signal to the others, us all jumping out of the trees. We soared down to the building, me landing but using the momentum to bash into the doors, knocking them down. A few scientists jumped and looked at us, then running to set off the alarms.

"Angel, Nudge, go!" I yelled and they ran forward, shoving past the shocked scientists. I lunged for one, punching his lights out before swinging another punch into the guy next to him. Gazzy fought alongside me, throwing kicks of his own. He grabbed one guy and swung him around into the wall, I could hear the ribs cracking from where I stood. I heard the crash from the sun roof, Fang and Iggy had just entered. The alarms suddenly went off, red lights flashing overhead. Emergency doors slammed shut behind me, the windows locked and secured. We'd have to blow ourselves out, literally. I could hear whitecoats yelling for backup. But just as I had kicked the last guy down, the doors swung open. Ten more guards stormed in, but this time they were armed with machine guns. I glared at them but then I heard Gazzy yell, charging straight for them. The guns went off, but amazingly, they all missed. Gazzy grabbed one gun and ripped it out of the hands of the man, then swinging it around and hitting another in the face. I ran and ducked behind a wall, Gazzy open firing on the men, killing them all. I ran out and to his side, making sure he was ok.

"That was awesome!" He yelled, grabbing another gun off of a dead body.

…

Nudge POV

Flames grew up along the walls, the experiments racing out of the room. I stood with Angel by my side as I lit up the building, the flames eating their way through everything in sight. We ran out of the room, slamming the door shut. We ran to the next room quickly. Angel released everything while I set the flames.

"Max, that's the last room!" Angel cried out, and we ran out of the room. I tossed down the last of the torch we had burned, it catching the floors rug on fire. Smoke was filling the building fast, the rooms burning down and the flames spreading. We ran into Max as she fought down the last of the whitecoats. But now the backup had arrived, over 50 Erasers had swarmed back into the building from the outside arenas. I grabbed the torch once again and jumped over the Erasers, running towards the arena. I could set those on fire as well, it would make this process go much faster.

…

Fang POV

"Hurry up, Ig!" I yelled, blocking the punch from the Eraser in front of me with my arm. I kicked him away, him hitting the wall and leaving behind a large dent. We had been moving from room to room, Iggy setting up the detonators as fast as he could. I could smell the smoke of the fire starting to build up, we'd need to get moving and fast. Iggy stood up, brushing the gunpowder from his pants.

"Are we all set?" I asked, panting. He nodded and we ran out of the room. The flames had already begun to eat through the walls of the room. The roof was now completely engulfed, banisters falling onto the ground and setting more fires. I coughed as one fell in front of us, sending ashes flying into the air. I pushed Iggy past it and towards the main hallway. But that hallway was completely ablaze, nowhere to go.

"Guys!" I yelled, hoping to hear one of their voices in the chaos. Erasers screamed as they caught on fire, whitecoat bodies burned, the surviving people running around as they tried to find a way out.

"Fang." The voice I heard was one that I had dreaded, Jeb. Iggy stood next to me, the flames getting closer. Our only way out was past Jeb, who now stood in front of us.

"Iggy, get out of here and warn Max." I said and he shot forward, kicking Jeb in the chest hard, sending him flying back. He then jumped over Jeb and continued on, turning the corner sharply. Jeb picked himself up off the ground, I walked towards him. My anger was swelling now, overtaking me almost completely. My hands curled into fists, my glare boring holes into Jeb's body. He had killed so many people, ruined so many lives, and for what? His stupid experiments that didn't help anyone. It was all to satisfy his own cruel and wicked fascination.

"You may have burned this place, Fang, but it's not over. I have many more institutes." Jeb yelled, my glare only intensifying.

"Then we'll just have to burn them all down, till not a single one is left standing." I spat, a growl rising in my throat.

…

Jeb POV

"I find that hard to believe." I growled back at Fang. He stood in front of me, his fists curled, his stance ready for fighting. The look in his black eyes was murderous, the flames from the fire dancing in his eyes.

"Back down and I won't have to kill you." He growled but I stood fast. If I died here, nothing would happen. My legacy would continue on in all the other schools across the world. Besides, what would a seventeen year old do to me?

"If I'm going down, then you're going down with me." I said and Fang growled at me, walking closer. I could hear the screams of all my whitecoats, my Erasers, everything I had poured into this place was being burned to the ground before my very eyes. And now it had come to this, a standoff between me and Fang. I glared at him, the flames flickering in his evil eyes.

"Just try me." Fang growled, and I shot forward. He blocked my punch and swung a hard left into my skull, stars exploding everywhere. I managed to kick his stomach, making him back up a few steps. A banister fell in front of me, blinding me with ash for a few seconds. But Fang used those seconds to smash a huge kick into my head, making me fall to the ground. I tried to get back up but Fang stomped his foot onto my chest, cracking a few ribs with the tremendous force. All in all, I was no match for Fang. His bird DNA gave him a huge edge, even for his age. He held me down, his fists curled at his sides.

"This place will burn, and you with it!" I yelled, grabbing his leg and twisting and him off. He kept his balance, grabbing me, and hurling me through the brick wall next to me. I broke through the wall, rolling onto the charred ground of the arena. Fang ran out of the hole in the wall, round house kicking me as I staggered back up.

"It's over, Jeb!" He yelled grabbed my throat and hoisting me off the ground, into the air. The institute building was completely engulfed, the flames spreading to the roof of the arena now. The smoke was filling the small area quickly, making it hard to breathe. I held onto Fang's wrist, trying to tug him off.

"Let go and fight like a man!" I tried yelling, but Fang's eyes were fixed onto me, unwavering. The fires reflection danced in his black eyes, the hatred showing through. His hand had closed off my windpipe, but then he swung me around, letting go. I hit the buildings brick wall, the only thing left untouched by the fire. I couldn't get up, the impact had broken my leg. I looked up at him as he walked closer. I couldn't do anything as he dragged me inside the flaming building once again, letting me go. I then walked out, standing in the arena, watching as the flames got closer to me. I was helpless, the flames caught onto my clothing…

…

Max POV

The flock and I circled above the building, the flames engulfing it. We were all here except for Fang, who was fighting Jeb according to Iggy. But that was a while ago, and so far there had been no sign of either of them. I was getting worried as I descended down towards the building. I spotted the arena, it now also engulfed in flames. The scorched wood was now falling, the arena littered with it. I could see through the holes in its sides, but it was nothing but black smoke and fire.

"Fang!" I called out, hoping that something would answer me.

"Max!" A voice answered, it was Fang. But it was also coming from the arena. He was stuck in there, the fire getting closer. I started to kick at the structure, hoping to form a hole in the side. But to my horror, the entire structure of the arena leaned back, and collapsed.


	7. Chapter 7

_7_

…

Max POV

1 ton of scorched banisters, concrete, and fire came crashing down, the arena collapsing. The crash caused a chain reaction, the rest of the institutes building coming down too. As the dust cleared, I was left to look at a huge pile of debris, bit still on fire, smoke rising from the wreckage. I panicked, knowing that Fang was underneath all of this.

"Guys!" I yelled, hearing Iggy land next to me. "Find him!" We started digging, lifting huge and burnt boards up out of the way. Minutes passed, no sign of Fang showing up. I was starting to worry that the collapse had crushed him, we'd find him dead.

"Max!" Angel suddenly called out, I instantly ran over to her, helping her move the massive banister. I spotted Fang's form under the rubble, his arm out, holding a ton of stuff off of him. But I could so see that he was giving out, his eyes rolling shut, his arm falling. I caught the debris over him in time, hauling it off of him. Iggy pulled him out carefully, laying him in the grass. His face was covered in streaks of ash, scratched and burns covering his body. Iggy was now over him, taking his pulse.

"He must have inhaled the smoke, we've got to hurry." Iggy said, picking Fang up into his arms. It always amazed me how Iggy could tell these things, even when being blind. We flew him up to a cave in the mountain nearby, hoping that he'd be ok. Iggy had checked on him again, the news being still grim. Angel was telling me to bring him to the hospital since moms was too far away. But then that would cause a whole new load of problems. I knew Fang was tough, he could fight through this, I knew he could. I sat down next to him, him still lying on his back. The ton of debris he had held up with his arm had fractured the bone and had cut into his arm. If he hadn't have managed to block it, it would have crushed him.

"Max, we need to go. There's a city just down there." Iggy now said, crouching down in front of me. I looked up at him, sighing.

"Fine. Let's go." I said, picking up Fang into my arms. I could hear his struggled breaths, wheezing slightly. We jumped out of the cave, taking to the air. The hospital was in sight, we just needed to get him in there with a steady plan; he had been in a house fire, the building collapsed.

…


	8. Chapter 8

_8_

…

Max POV

I watched as the doctors loaded Fang up onto the stretcher, an oxygen mask over his face. They wheeled him away quickly, into another room, one where I couldn't fallow. So I had to wait in the waiting room, wondering what the outcome would be. The flock sat around me, quietly contemplating whether or not Fang would be ok. I reviewed over what had happened…

The destruction of The Institute of Higher Living had been a success. Jeb was dead, along with all the Erasers and whitecoats in the building. We just needed to attack all the other institutes, then we would have technically saved the world. Jeb's plan had been for mutants to take over the world. He'd mutate people, send them out and let them 'Breed', passing on those genes, like his own species. The building had burned down, the debris collapsing on Fang…

…

Doctors worked tirelessly on Fang, trying to keep his heart rate steady, keeping him breathing. They had categorized his injuries and were doing all they could to help. A fractured right forearm with a deep laceration along it, cracked ribs in several places, smoke inhalation, and now from the looks of it, a partially torn aorta. But luckily, the aorta would heal on its own. They put his arm in a cast, managed to stabilize his pulse, and stitched his cut. They then wheeled him out to the recovery room.

…

Max POV

The doctors came out to see us once everything had been done. I instantly got up to see them.

"He'll be fine with some rest." They said and I instantly breathed a sigh of relief. They led us to his room, allowing us to see him finally. They then shut the door behind us, giving us privacy. Fang's right arm was in a cast and a breathing mask over his face, but was still out cold. I sighed and sat next to his bed, taking his hand in mine.

"Why is he still unconscious?" Nudge asked, walking up to his bed. She put a hand on his leg, but he didn't respond.

"Maybe from the shock of it all? I'm not sure." I said and she nodded. I kept having flash backs of the whole thing that had happened. It was only supposed to be us burning down the building, and instead it had resulted in Fang being hospitalized. I heard a knock at the door and a man walked in holding a clipboard, a fake smile on his face.

"Hello, I just need to ask you guys a few questions." He said and I looked over at everyone.

"Shoot." I said, looking back at him.

"Is Nick allergic to anything?"

"None that I know of." I answered and he frowned, looking down at his papers.

"Are you sure? Him being unconscious is part of an allergic reaction to something." He said and my eyes widened. Had Jeb put something in him? I tried to think back to anything that happened while we were being captive, had Jeb done something then? And then I remembered something faintly, way back while we were still trapped. I remembered having to watch one of Jeb's experiments on Fang, he had a piece of wood burning in a room with Fang, him saying that it had a new chemical laced with it. This chemical was supposed to enhance Fang's abilities, but after just 5 minutes of it burning in the room with Fang, I watched Fang faint, hitting the ground hard. He didn't wake up for three days… Had Jeb put that chemical in the wood of the building as a plan just in case we decided to attack? He couldn't be that smart could he?

"He might be, I don't know. Is it serious?" I asked and he shook his head.

"No, he should wake up tomorrow sometime." He said and then opened the door to leave. "I'll double check."

"I think Jeb did that." I said and Iggy frowned.

"What?"

"He laced that crazy chemical with the wooden beams of the school, if we ever attacked, it would be an emergency backup plan." I said and Nudge gasped.

"So, Jeb poisoned him?"

"Kinda, I had to watch an experiment with the stuff once with Fang, it knocked him out in 5 minutes but didn't have any effect on us. I think it's just his body, he had an allergic reaction to it."

"You can pass out from an allergic reaction?" Gazzy asked, standing up now.

"I guess." I sighed, looking back at Fang. If Jeb had built that school that way, then there was a good chance he did the same thing with all the others. We couldn't burn the schools anymore.

I eventually sent the others to go and get some food; we were all starving after our attack on the school. I stayed behind with Fang, holding his hand. I hated seeing him in that hospital bed; it made me feel like it was my fault. He had fought hard, and still ended up here. I sighed and looked over at Fang again, but this time stopped. He had opened his eyes, groggily looking around. He raised his good hand and pulled the mask away, putting it down on the bed.

"What happened?" He asked, trying to sit up in the bed. I pushed him back down, the EKG spiking.

"It's ok, you're in the hospital." I said and he frowned.

"I killed Jeb, and now I'm here?"

"Yeah, the building collapsed. Jeb had also laced the burning wood with that strange chemical, you had an allergic reaction to it."

"To wood?"

"To the chemical on the wood." I said and he groaned.

"At least the buildings gone." He said, and then glanced down at his arm. "What happened there?" He raised it up and looked at it.

"When the building collapsed, you blocked some of the debris with your arm, fracturing and cutting it before you passed out." I said and he frowned.

"I don't remember any of this." He glared down at the IV needle. "I need to get out of here."

"I know, the others are getting food, then we're gonna go." I explained and he nodded, leaning back into the bed.

"The plan kinda backfired, huh." He said and I nodded. Just then the door opened, the rest of the flock walking in. The smell of burgers filled the room, making my stomach growl. Fang eyed the food, he was just as hungry as I was. I divided the food out and everyone instantly started eating, wolfing down the food in seconds. The doctor just then walked in, right as I had finished.

"The patient shouldn't be eating solid food yet." He said but was stopped short by a death glare from Fang.

"We don't need anything right now." I said and he nodded, turning to leave. Fang groaned, leaning back into the bed, closing his eyes.

"Solid food my ass, I was starving." Fang said and I nodded. "Maybe that's how patients sometimes don't make it after surgery."

"The doctors not letting them eat?"

"Yeah." He yawned. "I was gonna eat him if this went on till tomorrow."

I laughed. "Be my guest, he's a creep anyway." I leaned back into the chair. It was around 9 am now, we had been up all night attacking the school. I was exhausted and so was everyone else. Everyone was starting to fall asleep now, Iggy and the kids falling asleep against the wall, all leaning against one another. I was in my chair still, Fang in the hospital bed.

"We're getting out of here soon, don't worry." I said, yawning loudly.

"I know." He looked over at me, his eyes slightly cloudy still. The painkillers they had given him were already starting to kick in. It made him drowsy.

"You should get to sleep. I'm doing the same." I patted his shoulder. He sighed, closing his eyes, as if he was relieved. He was out in seconds…


	9. Chapter 9

_9_

…

Max POV

In the morning Fang had to get his wounds checked on. The doctor would come in and check his cast and his ribs. But the kids, being bird kids, were hungry. They were begging me to let them go and get food to bring back while Fang got everything checked out. He seemed anxious to get out of the hospital, we all were.

"Come on Max!" Nudge begged and I groaned, finally nodding. She grinned and then dragged Gazzy and Angel with her. I ordered Iggy to go with them to make sure they stayed safe. It was just Fang and I now in the hospital room. He didn't need the IV needle in anymore; doctors had taken it out last night. But now, the door was opening, a lady walking through.

"Good morning, Nick. I'm here to check you over and make sure you're healing good." She smiled. She walked next to Fang, him watching her carefully. She reached out her hand, taking Fang's casted arm carefully. She tapped it, Fang's eyes still watching her.

"No pain?" She asked and he shook his head, no. She frowned and then moved on to his ribs. He was tense as she felt the broken areas, but again frowned as she finished.

"We heal fast." I said, her looking over at me.

"Wounds like these shouldn't be healed like this until at least a month."

"I know." I said, and she frowned.

"I'll call in the doctors." She said, then left. Fang sighed, leaning back into the bed. He lifted up his casted arm.

"I can't wait to have this thing off." He said and I nodded.

_Max! _I winced as I heard Angel's voice screaming in my head.

_What's wrong? _I demanded, watching Fang.

_The Erasers are back! They're taking us away! _She cried and I looked up at Fang's worried face. He had gotten the same message just now.

"We've got to get out of here, now." I said and he nodded, swinging his feet out of the bed. He grabbed his shirt, slipping it on carefully over his wings. He eyed the open window in our room, looking over at me. I nodded, standing up onto the window sill. I leaned out, unfurling my wings, soaring up into the air. I heard the door suddenly open. Fang shot out of the window, a doctor reaching for him just as he got away. We rocketed into the air as fast as we could. I was listening hard, watching for anything that could give us a clue.

_Where are you? _I sent Angel the thought message. A few seconds passed.

_A semi truck heading onto the highway. They say we're heading to New York. _Angel thought and I groaned. They were already well on their way, we had no idea which detour they'd take. Our best bet would be to head to New York and then find the closest Itex Institute. I looked over at Fang who hovered next to me.

"They're on a semi truck headed to New York. We've got to beat them there." I said and he glanced down towards the road leading out to the highway.

"We'll just have to head to New York then, let's go." He said and started flying. I followed next to him, it'd be a very long flight.

…

Max POV

We had flown for 8 hours so far, I was really starting to get tired. But the semi truck caring the kids wouldn't be taking any rest stops. If we stopped, we'd waste precious time. Who knows what they would be subjected to, maybe they'd be killed on the way…

"Max." Fang's voice knocked me out of my trance. I looked over at him, the wing ruffling his black hair. "There's a storm on top of us."

"Great." I breathed, looking around at the thick and dark storm clouds. If they opened up, we'd be drenched and be forced to land anyway. "Fine, we'll land and rest up. I think we've earned it anyway."

"Good idea." Fang said, and looked down at the ground. I could hear the thunder really starting to pick up, the lightning not being far away from us. I spotted a few log cabins in the woods below us; they were the emergency rest stops for hikers. I dipped my wing down, flying towards it. And just as Fang followed, the sky cracked open. The rain poured down in bucket full's, soaking us in second. I landed hard, slipping slightly on the muddy ground. Fang came in hot behind me, his wings outstretched to slow down. He landed next to me, folding us his wings instantly. The rain rolled off of us, chilling us to the bone. We were both shivering as we headed up to the first cabin. We needed to make sure no one was in there.

"Just peek in the window." I said, stopping by the building. It was an emergency stop for hikers, complete with couches and a fridge full of food. Fang glanced inside, I watched from the side. The water rolled down his body, him shivering as his clothes clung to his thin body.

"Coast is clear." He said, opening the door. We headed inside instantly, me slamming the door and locking it. I turned around to see Fang walking around, checking the place out. It was much warmer inside here, but only by about 10 degrees. I took off my jacket like Fang had done, ringing it out best I could. I spotted a fireplace and headed over to it. Even though it looked pretty good in here, the fireplace was gas powered. I hung my jacket on the metal railing along it, where Fang had put his. I looked over at Fang, his body still shivering as he looked around. The door was locked, a couch being in the middle of the room and facing a window. The fireplace was next to it in the wall, the kitchen being behind it. I headed into their and spotted a bathroom, a working shower hooked up to it.

"There's a shower." I said.

"Ironic that there's no fireplace. It's gonna get cold in here." Fang said, him heading over to me. His hair was stringy, water dripping off of it. "You can take a shower, I'll be getting some dinner together."

"Good idea." I said, heading into the bathroom. He nodded, me shutting the door. I heard him walk away out of the area. I started the water, and stepped inside.

…

Max POV

I stepped out of the shower, using the spare towels to dry off. It was a nice rest stop, better than sucking it up in a tree outside. The rain was pelting against the window, the lighting flashing brightly. I spotted Fang messing with the fireplace.

"It's broken I think." He wiped his forehead on his arm, leaning back as he looked at it.

"I think you're right. Oh well. I'll get into the shower, we'll eat after." He said, standing up. I glanced down at the cast still on his arm. He brushed past me, heading to the showers. I sighed, standing by the window. My clothes had pretty much dried; I had ringed them out extra well. I heard the water start running and sighed. That semi truck was probably rolling down the highway at 80 miles an hour, gaining more ground on us. I put a hand over my growling stomach though; we had flown a long time. Fang was just as hungry as I was, yet he seemed so calm in these situations. Eating was a reality; we couldn't ignore it for long, even if we tried. I heard the water shut off.

"You used all the hot water." Fang muttered from the small room. I watched him walk out, shirtless. He put his shirt over the rod where our jackets hung, dripping dry. His jeans were still damp but not too badly wet.

"Sorry." I said and he walked into the kitchen. He rummaged through the drawers, pulling out a hammer. "What are you doing?" I walked up and leaned over his shoulder. He had his casted arm on the counter, the hammer in the other arm. His eyes watched carefully, he brought the hammer down on the cast hard.

"Kinda hurts, not too bad though." He said, reassuring me. I knew all too well though that Fang had a very high tolerance to pain. A broken arm on a human would be like a sprained ankle to him. I prayed that he'd be ok as he hammered the cast off, it cracking down the side. He set the hammer down and then pried the cast off, looking at his arm.

"Good as new." I said, patting his shoulder. "Now come on, I'm hungry." We divided the food Fang had found up between us. There was enough to feed 4 people here, but compared to our massive appetites, we barely had enough to quell the painful growls in our stomachs. We ate everything, knowing that we'd be leaving tomorrow anyway. By that point, our clothes were dry and we could head to bed. I watched Fang collapse onto the couch, groaning. He lay on his back, his hands folded over his stomach.

"It's getting cold." I said, lying down next to him. I lay my head on his chest, trying to get as close as possible. Fang pulled a blanket over us, putting an arm around me.

"Yeah, just try to sleep though. We've got a lot of ground to go tomorrow." Fang breathed. I nodded, closing my eyes. I listened to his heartbeat under my ear, allowing it to lull me to sleep. I shared his warmth, him taking mine. I felt sleep take me over, drifting into a dreamless sleep…


	10. Chapter 10

_10_

…

Max POV

I woke up early, unable to sleep. I was constantly worrying over the kids, what horrors had they already gone through while we were sleeping? I shifted positions, lying next to Fang. But my slight movement had woken him up, him now looking over at me.

"You ok?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. I looked over at him.

"I'm just worried about the others. We're sitting her sleeping while they're being tortured with god only knows what." I sighed and he shifted his weight so he was sitting up.

"I know, I'm worried about them too. But we had to rest; the rain was also coming in hard." He assured me, but I only nodded. He got up off the couch, cracking his back and stretching.

"We still have a long ways to go." I said, standing up next to him.

"I know. We can start now though, the rain's stopped." Fang pointed a thumb out the window and I nodded. We grabbed our jackets and put them back on. The sun had just risen, lighting up the dew covered ground. We'd continue our flight to New York, flying as far as we could before we had to stop again.

…

Nudge POV

The Erasers unloaded us roughly into crates that had solid walls, you couldn't see out of them except for a small slit for the hand holds in the sides. They pushed us onto a rolling cart like thing, rolling us inside the new institute in New York. Only this one was underground. The sides were steel, the doors reinforced with locks and guards standing everywhere. I didn't see how anyone could escape from here. The cart rolled for a while, turned a few corners, before it finally came to a stop in a dark room where other crates sat. Our crates were stacked on top of each other; I was on top of Iggy, Gazzy and Angel on top of each other. Where were Max and Fang?

…

Max POV

We had flown across the whole US in a matter of 12 hours. We had only stopped twice, once in the emergency cabin and another in some trees at a national park. Now we were flying across the border to New York, finally. It was 1 in the morning; the only light was the moons and the city lights below us. I dipped down, flying towards some trees out the outskirts of town. Fang and I were both exhausted, collapsing into the tree instantly. Fang leaned against the crook of the tree and sighed, closing his eyes.

"I don't think we'll need to take watch tonight, I'm too tired." I said, closing my eyes. Fang didn't respond, but I could care less. We were both out like rocks in seconds. We'd get up and try to find the others in the morning.

…

Max POV

That night, I dreamed about how I'd rescue the flock. Images sprang into my mind at hundreds of miles an hour, allowing me to rethink situations and to plan out strategies. By the time I woke up, I had a plan, but it would involve some risk. If we allowed ourselves to get caught, then we'd get close to the flock. That way we could at least be together and could figure out a plan from that point on. I looked over at Fang, him already starting to wake up. The light breeze blew his hair around, his eyes looked over at me.

"I've got a plan, but you may not like it." I said, his gaze turning to suspicion.

"Does it involve getting caught?" He guessed it.

I nodded. "Yeah, but that way we can get close to the flock and make a plan from there."

"But how would we get out if we're caught?" He groaned.

"I'll worry about that part." I said and stood up. He stood next to me, looking down at the ground.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing." He said. He was putting his full trust in me, if my plan backfired, things may go bad. We jumped off of the tree and soared into the air. We just needed to make ourselves noticeable, and then the Erasers would do the rest. It terrified me to think that all my life we've been running from these monsters, and now we were trying to get caught by them. I watched Fang tuck his wings in and shoot down into the city street, landing on a parked car. His wings were held open for all to see. I landed next to him and spotted as a few people headed towards us. From what I had been told by the voice in my dream, New York was crawling with erasers.

"Hey, you two!" Someone yelled and I looked over at them. Fang was already getting uneasy, jumping down from the car. All of a sudden, something plowed into Fang from the side. They tumbled but Fang pushed him off into a car before scrambling back up to his feet. Two Erasers grabbed his arms and tried to pull him to the ground.

"Fang!" I yelled, two more grabbing me. I nodded towards him, him catching my hint. He frowned, allowing the erasers to kick his knees in, dropping him to the ground. They cuffed his hands behind his back. He watched me as they did the same thing to me. The last thing I saw was a bag being put over his head, blocking out his sad eyes.

…

Fang POV

I remembered waking up, but couldn't see anything through the bag over my head. I could only pray that Max had her shit together. The bag was pulled off, blinding light pouring in. Once my eyes adjusted, I could look around. I was in a room with only a single light on. I was on the ground, a whitecoat just leaving the room. The walls were brown, the floor and ceiling steel. There was a large glass window in front of me though, looking into a dark room with a few people on the other side. That room was the next main storage room where the other experiments were kept. I could see crates stacked up on top of each other.

"Welcome back, Fang." A voice said, it was familiar. I stood up, a rush of dizziness hitting me. I glared at the lady standing behind the glass alone now, her hands behind her back as she watched me. It was Anne Walker. "Ever since Jeb's death, I've been in charge."

"Good change so far." I spat, glaring at her.

"You'll soon come to change that opinion." She smirked. I glared at her as she motioned over an Eraser, fully morphed. "You'll wish you were dead by the end."

"What makes you say that?" I growled, the Eraser moving towards the door. It opened the door, reaching for me.

"I can't spoil anything." She said, the eraser grabbing my arm. I wrenched it free, punching it with my free hand. I instantly regretted it. Its skull was made from solid metal, a new upgraded form of the Eraser. It grabbed my arms, pulling them behind me. It then pushed me into a different room, a large contraption thing in it.

"We catalog all injuries and details the first day you're here so we know what's going on." She said. The machine whirred up, circling around me before going back to its original position. It was an X-Ray.

…

Anne POV

The X-Ray gave me a very detailed idea of what Fang's condition was in right now. He seemed strong and alert, but I'd be sure to change that soon. His X-Ray showed a lot of abuse. Lots of past breaks and fractures and toughened bones, his system was littered with the past trauma. I put the pictures down, then snapped my fingers. The Eraser once again grabbed Fang and brought him back to the small room he originally was from. His friends were in crates in the other room awaiting their experiments. The eraser locked the door, then left. I turned off all the main lights, then left the room. I'd leave them to get used to their new surroundings for a few days before the tests would begin…

…

Max POV

The only thing I could see out of in this small crate was the slits in the sides meant for caring the box with. I looked through one and spotted Fang in a small room, Anne standing behind the glass. She was turning out the lights, then leaving. I could see Fang standing by the glass now, slowly sitting down. He looked over his hand and shook it out. He had punched that eraser earlier but it was clear that he had hurt his hand when he did. My plan so far had worked, but now was beginning to fall apart at the seams. I could only barely talk to the others, the crates muffled their voices. I had no contact with Fang at all, and Angel was gone somewhere.

"Max?" I heard Gazzy mumble next to me. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. You guys ok?" I asked, hoping that nothing serious had happened.

"We've been here for a couple days already, they took Angel away somewhere." He said, his voice sounding scared.

"Don't worry, we'll come up with a plan to get out of here." I tried to reassure him, but there was no answer. I looked back over at Fang, who was watching the crates carefully. He eyes looked distant, no brightness in them at all. He looked away, leaning against the glass.

"What plan?" I then heard Iggy's voice.

"We'll just break out somehow, you'll see." I said but even I didn't feel like I was selling it. My plan had failed, we were now all trapped and it was my fault. I leaned against the corner of my crate, allowing the darkness to come in on me. We'd just have to endure hell until I came up with the right plan, in the right time to strike…


	11. Chapter 11

_11_

Max POV

…

It had been two days. Or at least that what it felt like to me. Fang remained in the same spot in that cage the whole time, not even moving. Occasionally he'd look around, but then he'd just lean against the glass, sleep some more. We were all hungry; no one had been into this room for a while. But I may have just jinxed it. The front doors swung open, Anne walking in. Fang was up on his feet and on the other side of the cage before I had time to see it, Anne was already by the glass.

"Did you think we had forgotten about you?" She smirked, her tone of voice sounding happy. "Two days in here gives you some time to think, and get hungry I'm sure. It's just a warning, if you don't corporate, this will happen again."

"What do you want?" Fang growled and she looked back over at us in the crates.

"Nothing really." She smiled back at him. "It's just my job to make sure you behave. And I get to have some fun if I get bored." By have fun, she meant torturing us. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly an Eraser picked up my crate. He hauled it out of the room and into a separate area. He placed it into a much larger cage, unlocked the crate door, then slammed the door shut as I jumped out.

"You'll be staying in here from now on." He growled and then left. The room I was in now was much like Fang's. Only this one overlooked an arena right next to it. I then spotted that Eraser dragging Fang into the arena, shoving him forward and locking the doors. The door opened again, but this time, Iggy was shoved through. He just stood there, staring straight ahead. Fang looked at him, but instead of walking up to him like I'd expect Fang to do, he took a step back, watching him carefully.

"Iggy." I heard Fang say carefully, looking at Iggy. Ig looked over at Fang, his eyes not blinking at all. Something was wrong. To my surprise, Fang jumped into the air, unfurling his wings just as Iggy dashed towards him, claws springing out and trying to slash him. Fang flew to the other end of the arena, watching Iggy.

"It's not him!" I yelled, banging on the glass. Fang's eyes didn't leave Iggy as he tried to avoid him. This Iggy was either a clone, or it was Iggy but being controlled by Anne. Fang couldn't hurt him. I could only watch as Fang tried to escape, only to be cornered by Iggy and attacked.

By the time two hours had gone by, I was in tears, and Fang was wearing out quickly. Fake Iggy was still going full speed like he had just started, attacking Fang with claws and kicks as hard as he could. I gasped as Fang jumped up, kicking the side of Iggy's head hard, knocking him to the floor. Fang panted hard, watching in dismay as Iggy got right back up.

"Iggy, it's me!" He yelled, only to no avail. Just as Ig was about to punch, Anne pressed a button, stopping him. Iggy backed down, backing up towards the door, then stopping.

"This has gotten boring now. Send in the Erasers. Three of them." Iggy left, and in his place, three erasers showed up. Fang groaned, trying to watch all three of them. He was exhausted, bleeding still from Iggy's attacks. It was only 9 am. We still had the whole day to go…

…

I could only watch as Fang wheezed, trying to get back up. He was on his hands and knees, one hand over his side. It was at the end of the day, the night lights turning on, the doors automatically locking. But Anne had other plans, watching in her lawn chair as the last Eraser kicked Fang in the stomach, making him hit the wall. Fang got up in time to avoid the Eraser's hard stomp.

"You see? This is much more fun." She smiled, leaning forward to watch.

"How is this fun?" I demanded, wiping the tears from my eyes. She looked over at me.

"I don't know, if you were in my position you'd see why." She said, then looked back over at Fang punching the Eraser as hard as he could. "I never knew your friend was this weak though."

"He's not weak, he's just exhausted." I growled at her, baring my teeth. "You've had him fighting all day after two days with no food."

"This is just a test of his strength. When he gives out, I'll call back the erasers." She said and I looked back at Fang. I wish I could take his place. He was limping slightly, his body shaking, and couldn't breathe very well. To my surprise then, Fang kicked as hard as he could into the chin of the eraser, dropping it like a stone. As soon as it fell though, so did Fang. Anne stood up, motioning for the erasers to drag the bodies out. Fang couldn't even stand up; the door was wide open behind him. He was on his hands and knees, his arms giving out though. He fell to his side, panting lightly still.

"He can't even sit up." I growled at her, her face lighting up.

"This must be his limit then. I'll write it down in the notebooks." She said and stood up, hurrying out of the room. The lights turned off, the door locking behind her. It was the end finally, but Fang was already past that. I watched as he eventually gave out completely, blacking out.

"Fang?" I called out after a few hours. Fang was still out cold. But to my relief, he responded, his eyes opening to look over at me. He pushed himself up off the ground, into a sitting position. "Are you ok?" I called out.

"I don't know." He muttered, trying to stand. His body was vibrating, I wasn't quite sure why though. "Where'd she go?"

"She left a few hours ago." I said, leaning as close to the glass as I could. Fang limped over to the main doors, trying to see if he could get them apart. But he couldn't, sitting back down.

"I'm sorry." He said, leaning into the corner of the arena closest to me.

"Fang, just be ok. That's all I ask." I said, but it was too late. Fang had passed out again.

…


	12. Chapter 12

_12_

Max POV

Every minute felt like hours, and every hour felt like years. I later discovered that Angel had come back, she had just gone through hell for the past couple days and was put back to 'recover'. We'd get one small meal a day; it only consisted of a few pieces of fruit and bread though, the occasional hotdog. Over the course of the week, she put us all through the same 'Endurance' test. She's study how long it took for us to break down and then she'd change the tests a little. So far, her favorites were Fang and Iggy since they seemed to last the longest. Provided hours of entertainment, Anne says. I also found out that the Iggy that attacked Fang that first day, was a clone. Fang had faced it many more times since then, killing it just yesterday.

Fang had recovered from that first day, since then Anne had gone a bit easier on him, but barely. He'd run through mazes and over obstacles for hours on end, trying as hard as he could to get through unscathed. Anne always had other plans though; he'd always end up hurt at the end. Whenever the erasers came to bring him back, he'd attack them. If he ever got the chance to get at Anne, he'd seize it.

Right now he had just finished getting through a maze, jumping over the last hurdle that was as tall as he was. He leapt over it with ease, landing hard on the other side. He panted hard, watching as Anne lowered everything. She pressed another small button, an eraser dashing into the room with Fang. She watched carefully as he instantly ran for it, kicking its stomach as hard as he could. I too had noticed Fang's change in behavior; he had become far more aggressive towards almost everything. The Eraser grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back, and kicking out Fang's knees. Fang fell to his knees and the Eraser cuffed him, dragging him back up to his feet. Another eraser walked up, slugging him in the stomach. They pulled Fang out of the room, and into the cage next to mine. They slammed the door, leaving him to stand in the corner, almost bent over in pain. His body shook from adrenaline and exhaustion, panting hard as he slowly slid down the wall to sit down. I felt like crap myself; we had been beaten and broken down over the past week.

"Fang." I said, trying to get his attention. He was leaning in the corner of his cage, his eyes closed. But my voice had almost no effect on him, he only opened his eyes and looked over at me. He body remained still, he didn't have enough strength to get up. His dark eyes were dull and lifeless, hollow.

"Where are the others?" He asked, his voice low. The lights flickered off, the doors slamming shut and locking. I winced at their sharp noise. To be honest, I'm not sure where the others were. The last time I had seen any of them was yesterday when they were doing the same test Fang had just gotten out of.

"I don't know." I sighed. "My plan backfired on me, this is all my fault."

"You didn't know this was all going to happen, Max." He said, closing his eyes again and leaning his head on the wall of the cage. "None of this is your fault."

"I got us both caught, we could have tried to attack this place or at least break the kids free."

"But you have no idea this place would be underground." Fang's voice was drifting away. I looked over at him, his body had stopped shaking at least, but now he seemed like he was falling asleep.

"It doesn't matter." I sighed. "I'll try and think up something." But Fang had given in to exhaustion, he was out cold now. I closed my own eyes, allowing sleep to finally take over me…

Angel POV

The doctors had me in a room with no windows and no furniture. Just a barren room with a locked door. I had been in here for what felt like a couple days, but with no windows or light, I couldn't tell. The room had an eerie feel to it though, like things were watching me all the time. I continued to get visions of each of the flock dying in gruesome ways, ways that I couldn't imagine. Maybe they were trying to figure out my mental capacity? I missed the flock, I kept overhearing the scientists talking about how they were all reaching their limit, that they should just kill them all and start over.

"Angel, it's nice to see you again." A voice said over a speaker in the corner of the room. I frowned as I recognized Ari's gruff voice.

"What are you doing to the flock?" I asked, trying to read his mind as well. So far, it was painstakingly slow. I'd see flashes of each of the flock, but it was too fast to tell what they were doing.

"Running tests, as always. Fang has proven that he's not as strong as you all brag about though." Ari's voice was now coming from behind the door, the locks all clicking as the door opened. Ari stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Fang will kill you." I growled, taking a step back as Ari approached me.

"I highly doubt it." Ari smiled evilly. "Anne has him out cold in a cage."

"He'll still beat you!" I yelled, but it was no use. I knew that Fang was in the cage next to Max's, but was unconscious.

"Enough about the loser, I'm here for you." Ari grinned, grabbing my arm tightly. He dragged me out of the room despite my screams and kicks.

…

Max POV

I woke up sometime later, my body feeling sore, my head spinning. I looked around, trying to see what was going on. It was dark, the room empty and quiet. Fang lay in the cage next to mine, out cold. I inched my way over to the glass, getting as close as possible. My night vision allowed me to see the cuts, scratches, and bruises lining his body.

"Fang." I said, knocking on the glass. He didn't respond, not moving at all. I sighed and leaned against the wall once again. We needed to get out of here. If Fang was already at this point, I couldn't imagine what had happened to the others. I hadn't seen Gazzy or Nudge at all since we got here. I looked over the cage door. It was a sliding key lock, you needed a card for it. I wasn't the technical one, that was mainly on Iggy or Fang, but since I had no idea where Iggy was and Fang was out cold, I was by myself.

"Fang." I once again knocked on the glass, harder this time. I saw him shift, his eyes flickering open. "Come on, get up."

"Hey." He looked over at me, trying to focus on my face.

"Hey." I sighed a breath of relief, knowing that he was at least alive. "You think you can get out of the cage through the key card lock?" He looked over at it, slowly sitting up and cringing in pain.

"Probably, not tonight though." He said, looking it over. "I'll need her key card."

"Oh, I thought you could tech your way out." I said and he almost smiled.

"No, not that smart." He sighed, leaning against the wall. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know, that's why we need to get out of here." I said. He looked at the floor of his cage, his eyes still dull.

"I'll think of a plan, don't worry." He said. Fang closed his eyes once again; we needed all the rest we could get. In the morning Anne would surely have us doing something again…


	13. Chapter 13

_13_

…

Fang POV

I watched as the doors shut, locking tightly. I was in the arena once again, only this time instead of an eraser or whitecoat trying to get me, it was Anne. She stood by the door, her hands clasped behind her back as she watched me. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity; I took a few steps back. I still felt dazed and exhausted from the previous days, but I had to focus right now. She walked around the edges of the room, my eyes tracked every step. I would attack her, but right now I simply didn't have the energy. Max was in the cage across from the arena out cold from her own testing she had gone through. It was around midnight; I wasn't sure what Anne was doing now.

"Was I right, Fang?" She asked me, smiling. I frowned and glanced towards the door. Her keys were on her belt, if I could get those, I could try and get the flock out. I looked back at Anne, her walking closer now.

"About what?" I demanded, taking a few steps back. Her grin disappeared, her eyes suddenly turning red. She suddenly morphed, her body turning into an eraser on steroids.

"About me." She growled. I was so screwed. She dashed towards me, her claws lashing out. I leapt out of the way, running to the other side of the room. How could I take her down? A regular eraser was almost too much for me now, she had worn us down. We had been in for two weeks, long enough for her to completely break us down. Hunger, pain, and exhaustion had weakened us. I tried to block her punch, but her strength was too much. I was pushed back into the wall, ducking her next blow which put a hole through the wall. I jumped out between her legs, running to the other side of the arena.

"You can only run, but you'll get tired eventually." She growled, reaching for me. There was nothing I could do, she was right. I jumped, but she caught me, throwing me to the ground. She jumped on top of me, beating both fists onto my chest. I couldn't escape, I felt so helpless.

…

Angel POV

I pulled away from the whitecoat trying to push me into the cage in front of me. I suddenly found myself free and I instantly jumped into the air, unfurling my wings. I landed on the support rafters for the ceiling. I needed to get the others out, but I needed keys to do that. I looked down at the scientist on the ground below me. I then jumped off the rafter, landing on him as hard as I could. It knocked him out, I grabbed the keys off his belt. I then ran to Gazzy's cage, him pushing on the door as I unlocked it. We both ran to the next room to find Iggy and Nudge.

"Guys!" I yelled, racing towards Iggy. He was barely conscious in his cage, leaning on the wall. I opened the door, then handed the keys to Gazzy so he could unlock Nudges cage.

"Iggy, come on, you gotta get up." I begged him, him opening his sightless eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked, getting out of the cage. He struggled to walk, his leg might be broken.

"I got the keys, we have to get out of here!" I said, grabbing his hand. I dragged him along with me as I met up with Gazzy and Nudge. We just needed to find Fang and Max now.

…

Max POV

I woke up from hearing a ton of commotion outside my cage. I opened my eyes, my vision still blurry from the drugs they had pumped my system full of. But I instantly sat up as I saw Fang battling with some creature that looked like an eraser, only three times bigger. He was losing, she was on top of him beating his chest in.

"Max!" I instantly looked over at the direction of Angels voice. I spotted her running up to my cage with keys, unlocking the door. I hugged her tightly then watched as Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge ran up behind her.

"Good job, Angel, we just need to get Fang out." I said, taking the keys from her. I unlocked the door, and we all piled in. Iggy and Gazzy charged the creature, Angel and Nudge ran from behind, I grabbed Fang and pulled him away as they distracted it. He was barely conscious, but grabbed my arm tightly as I tried to take his pulse.

"Fang." I said loudly, trying to snap him out of it. But his eyes fluttered shut, his hand letting go and falling. I looked up at the others, Iggy was getting into trouble as the thing grabbed his arm, throwing him into the wall. I stood up and ran to the others, trying to help. Gazzy was on its back trying to gouge out its eyes, Nudge was punching its nose, and Angel had a choke hold around its neck next to Gazzy. I ran in and kicked it as hard as I could, it falling over. It screamed and tried to get back up but we all held it down. Iggy opened up a knife from his pocket, stabbing it in the neck, cutting its spinal cord. As soon as it was over, we all fell to the ground exhausted.

"How's Fang?" Iggy panted, trying to keep himself up. I looked over at him, he was still by the corner of the arena.

"I don't know, but we need to head to Mom's, maybe she can help." I slowly stood up, my entire body in pain and stiff. I headed over to Fang.

"Come on guys, we have to get out of here as soon as possible." I said, lifting Fang into my arms. He was dead weight, it hurt my arms and legs. Angel opened the door and we all filed out, heading towards the exit. We'd take one of the cars and drive the ways to Mom's, it would be a long trip…

…


	14. Chapter 14

_14_

…

Max POV

We had stolen a black van with enough room for a dozen people to fit in. Fang was laid out on one of the large seats, the rest of the flock in their own. I was driving as fast as I could, we needed to get to someplace safe, and that was mom's house. But she was also more than a day's trip away by car. We were all in pain and exhausted. The kids had passed out as soon as they buckled up, Iggy was in the front seat beside me but was fighting to stay awake. I saw him lean his head on the window, his eyes finally closing. I glanced in through the rear view mirror at all the kids. Angel leaned onto Nudges shoulder, Gazzy was leaned against the window. Fang was on his back across the middle seats, his face turned away from me. I looked out through the wind shield once again, watching as the dark road stretched out in front of me. It was around 2 am, I had been driving for an hour and a half. The area around us was dark, but I could still make out the deer and coyotes running around.

I thought back to the two weeks we had been trapped at the school. It seemed that we escaped so easily. Angel got the keys off a single whitecoat, we got everyone out, and no one even tried to stop us aside from Anne. It all seemed fishy to me, but at least we were free. Everyone was still fast asleep; I didn't want to wake any of them since we were all so tired. I was the only one who could technically drive right now since Iggy was blind and Fang was going into shock. I looked back at Fang who was still in the same spot. His breathing was shallow; his ribs had been hit pretty hard by Anne. I hoped it wasn't so bad that he'd be hospitalized again.

My mind dragged on into flash backs and replaying the events of the two weeks behind us. Gazzy and Nudge seemed pretty much untouched except for a few scratched, bruises, and being thin. Iggy had a possible broken leg, was thin, and had the same cuts and bruises. Fang was unconscious; he had been dealt the most damage. I had the cuts and bruises, thin, and had been physically and mentally drained. I had been tormented with watching each of my flock members being beaten, drained, and passing out from exhaustion. I couldn't do a thing about it. I had failed to protect my family once again…

…

As the hours dragged by, I watched the sun rise and sunset. The flock had been asleep this entire time, I was still exhausted though. We had just about made it to Arizona though; I had been driving the whole time, only stopping for gas. Arizona's border was only 10 minutes away, then we'd take a detour and head to Moms; we'd be there in less than half an hour.

"Hey guys," I breathed, watching as Iggy's sightless eyes opened and glanced in my general direction. "We'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Finally." I heard Gazzy moan from the backseat, stretching his arms above his head. His shirt rode up his stomach, flashing ribs as well. Hunger had been a big problem for the two weeks we were trapped in the school. They only ever gave us enough to eat to keep us alive; we were hurting each day that went by. Some nights I would feel that my stomach would eat itself. But we couldn't do much about it other than try and conserve our energy, which often didn't work out. We were running every day, often with little no sleep and on empty.

"I see her house!" Nudge said excitedly pointing out the window. I parked in the driveway and opened my door. My legs felt stiff from the hours on the road, but I forced myself to open the main door. The kids and Iggy jumped out, I managed to pick up Fang who was still out cold. The Arizona heat was immense as I waited for mom to open the door. Once she did, her face changed from a happy smile to a very concerned and worried look. She helped me inside, taking Fang from me. We all collapsed onto the couch, Iggy propping up his injured leg.

"What happened?" Mom rushed out from the back room where she had taken Fang. I looked up at her from the couch, pushing myself up.

"We just got out of the school, we've been there for two weeks." I tried to explain but my headache was back, my body exhausted. I felt like I was going to faint.

"That explains a lot, Fang is in critical condition." She said, grabbing her bag off the table. She hurried back to the back room, I followed.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting down in a chair by the door. Fang was on an operating table, some lights lit up over him. Mom was putting on some gloves and her mask. "Are you operating on him?"

"I have to see what's wrong. The x-rays showed some bad hemorrhaging and snapped ribs that I have to put back into place. I've operated on animals with similar injuries." She said, taking out her instruments. She already had an IV in Fang, an EKG on his chest.

"I'll be waiting outside, let me know how it goes." I said, holding back tears. Fang was a wreck, I could only hope he was the same if he woke up again.

"I have some leftover food in the fridge if you're hungry." She said and I nodded, closing the door. I walked back to the living room in a trance. Fang was going into surgery, in a house of a vet who had never operated on a "human" before. I could only beg for the best…


	15. Chapter 15

_15_

…

Max POV

Hours dragged by, my worry only intensified as we waited for the news on Fang. He was in critical condition; any longer in the school may have been fatal. Why Anne's attention was solely on him is still a mystery to me. We had eaten almost everything in the fridge and were now one by one falling asleep on the couches. My head throbbed, my body stiff. The school had done a number on all of us, Iggy had almost thrown up even. I heard the door shut and I looked up at mom as she walked out. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm and looked us over.

"Fang is stable for now, only time will tell whether or not he'll make it." She said and I breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it through the surgery at least.

"What did you do?" I asked her, her eyes making their way back to me.

"Set some ribs, sew up some cuts, basic stuff really. He was just in shock." She explained, sitting down in the chair by the table.

"Can I go see him?" I asked hopefully, pushing myself up off the couch.

"Yeah, he should be asleep right now though." She said and I nodded. I headed back to the room where Fang was resting, opening the door and slipping inside. He was lying in bed, stitches over his arm and part of his neck. I sat down in the chair next to his bed, sighing. I had put him in this bed, I had failed to protect my family. He had a forming black eye as well. I brushed some of the black hair out of his face, his eyes closed. He looked exhausted, worn out.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, leaning down and kissing his forehead. "It's all my fault." I got up and headed to the door, shutting it behind me as I left. We'd rest here and then head out once again. I headed to the kitchen where mom and the flock were waiting.

"How is he?" Nudge asked, a worried look on her face. I looked over at her once I sat down at the kitchen table.

"Asleep. We'll rest up and then head out again." I said and Nudge nodded, her face sad.

"Why don't we just stay here? Every time we go out we end up nearly getting killed!" Iggy yelled.

"I'm sorry Ig, you know that they'll be after us." I tried to explain but he just shook his head.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." He growled, heading upstairs. I sighed, leaning into the back of the seat. If only we could just forget about the school and how they hunted us down each time. Why couldn't we just stay invisible?

"We should all get some rest." I said, standing up. The flock followed me upstairs and separated into their own rooms. I locked my door and flopped into my bed. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, I let them flow. My door was locked, no one could hear me, I could let some stress out now finally. I cried into my pillow, sobbing my eyes out. It was all my fault that this had all happened. I should have never have let the kids go out by themselves, I should have followed my gut and not have gotten Fang and I caught. Now Fang is paying the price, he nearly died. I pulled the blankets over my head and cried myself to sleep…

…

Fang POV

I jerked awake, my nightmare feeling all too real. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath catching in my throat. I looked around, recognizing Martinez's bedroom. What happened? My door was shut, the house was quiet. The clock on my nightstand read 4 am.

"Jeez." I breathed out, lying back down. I felt sore all over. I closed my eyes again, hoping that the nightmares would stop. It was the same one over and over again; I would watch each of the flock dying in front of me while I was held back. There wasn't anything I could do, it tore me apart inside.

…

In the morning, I tried to get out of the bed. My body protested but I wanted to see the flock, make sure everyone was ok. It had been eating at me all night. I opened my door carefully, my muscles stiff and sore. I hobbled down the stairs and was instantly greeted by 6 people. Max hugged me tightly, all the rest of the flock behind her. Martinez watched from the stove, a smile on her face.

"Welcome back to the living." She said and I nodded, looking at everyone. We all sat down and ate breakfast, which was amazing. I was so hungry I felt I would faint.

Later that day I lay on the couch, Max snuggled up next to me. She had pulled the blankets up over us, trapping the warmth. She leaned her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes.

"I thought I had lost you." She said lightly, so that only I could hear her.

"I can't die that easy; you of all people should know this." I winked at her and she smiled. She closed her eyes again sighing.

"I'm sorry." She said, her smile fading.

"It's not your fault, Max." I yawned, closing my eyes. "You should be blaming the school."

"I still failed you guys though." She sighed. I looked down at her.

"We're all still alive and in one piece, I say you've done your job very well." I said and she nodded into my shoulder. "Try and get some rest, I'll be here."

"Night." She whispered and I closed my eyes, letting sleep take over me.


	16. Chapter 16

_16_

…

"Sir, we need more test subjects. With our funds dying rapidly, we can't afford to keep having subjects dying on us. We need to start up the Boot Camp simulator so we can get the sponsors back." The whitecoat argued but I sent him away with a quick gesture of my hand. He grumbled to himself as he left my office, slamming the door behind him. There was nothing to worry about; I had the situation under control. I pressed a button on my desk, ordering Ari to come into the room.

"Can I kill one of them?" Ari asked as soon as he walked in and I groaned, looking up at him.

"No, I just need one of them. Pick whoever you'd like." I said and Ari grinned, his teeth already too big for his wolf mouth. He ran out of the room and I heard the door slam shut. The Boot Camp simulator was designed to test soldiers and train them for duty, but I had adapted it so I could use it to study experiments and how I could improve my design for the super soldier.

…

We had since left moms house, everyone was ready to go but we all still hated to. Moms house provided safety, food, and a great place to hunker down for a while. But reality had sunk in; we couldn't stay in one place for too long. We had been here for a week easily, it was already too long. One by one we had jumped into the air and unfurled our wings, rocketing into the air. Arizona was going through its monsoon season, which meant lots of rain. It was raining right now, actually.

"Max?" I looked behind me at Gazzy, who was shivering as the water dripped off his small body. The rain had reached its peak, but at least it was just rain and not crazy wind and lightning everywhere. "Can we just head for a cave or something? It's really cold."

"Ok, just a second." I said, glancing at Fang, who was flying above me. "Yo! We're gonna find a cave to hunker down in till the storm passes."

"Fine." He said, his eyes already locking onto the side of the mountain next to us. I spotted a cave and led the way towards it. I backbeat my wings and landed on the edge, running inside. Everyone else did the same, shaking out the water from their wings. I looked around towards the entrance; Fang was still coming in for a landing. The storm was picking up speed, the wind was getting harder and the lightning had just flashed. I watched as Fang flew back around and headed in towards the entrance. His wings spread out wide to slow down, the lightning flashing behind him. He tucked his wings in and made it through the entrance, running forward a few steps to catch himself. He shook his head, water flying everywhere off his stringy black hair. He shook out his wings but kept them open to dry.

"We'll have to wait here till the rain stops." I said, walking past Fang, his gaze meeting mine for a split second. I stopped at the edge of the cave entrance.

"Can we make a fire?" Angel asked and I shook my head. Everything was soaked outside; it would be a waste of time.

"No, everything's too wet." I sighed and she nodded as I walked back towards them. Everyone was sitting up against the very back wall of the cave, each ringing out their clothes. I shivered as the water dripped down my back and onto the ground. I looked back at Fang as he rung out his hoodie.

"You never know, the fire could dry out the wood." Fang muttered, biting back a chill. "We might as well try."

"Fine, you can go out and look for firewood, we'll stay here and get everyone's clothes dry." I said, patting his shoulder. He turned and jumped back out into the rain, his obsidian wings unfurling and carrying him into the dark sky. I watched as he tucked in his wings, dropping down close to the ground to skim for debris.

"Ok guys, everyone take off their shirts, except for the girls. We have to get as much stuff dry as possible." I said. Iggy and Gazzy both pulled off their shirts and started ringing them out. Lightning flashed across the sky and lit up the cave a bit better for a few seconds. I walked up to the far corner of the cave, the one no one was in, and drew out a circle with the toe of my shoe. This area would be where the fire "pit" would be. I looked up as I heard wing beats and watched as Fang managed to fly into the cave with two mesquite tree branches, each almost as long as he was. He threw them to the side of the cave and sighed, his breath becoming a cloud of fog in front of him. It was getting really cold outside.

"We'll need more." He muttered, clenching his teeth as a chill ran through him. Water was pooling underneath him at his feet as he stood there. I walked up to him and stood next to him, nodding.

"Just be careful. It's getting cold outside." I told him. He nodded, walking back to the edge of the cave.

"I'll bring a few more branches." He said and then was gone. I dragged the branches to the corner and piled them on top of each other.

…

Fang flew back into the cave with a few more branches, more than enough for the fire for now. He tossed them to the side and then pulled off his shirt, ringing it out as much as he could. I had lit the fire and it was now burning nicely. He laid his shirt out on the ground to dry and then walked up to the fire. He stood in front of it, his arms out to try and get warm. I looked up at Fang, his arms shaking as he shivered.

"It's bloody cold out there." He said through clenched teeth. The fire's light danced across his stomach and side, lighting up his scar from where Ari had slashed him on the beach. I sighed, glancing away as the memory played out again in my mind. I reached up and hooked my hand around his wrist, pulling him to sit down next to me. The fire had warmed us up most of the way, the kids and Iggy already had fallen asleep. I sighed and watched the flames dance over the wood, the light flickering across the walls of the cave. Fang sighed deeply and put his arms down finally.

"You better now?" I asked, leaning my head onto his shoulder.

"Yeah." He said, his eyes not leaving the fire. "I'll take first watch."

"You sure?" I asked, closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth.

"Mmhmm. Get some sleep." He kissed the top of my head and gazed back at the fire. I sighed, laying down and leaning my head in his lap. His stomach was growling, I could hear it clearly, but we'd get food tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17

_17_

…

_**The fog enveloped us as we flew through the chilly air above New York City. Max and the others were all up ahead, I was trailing behind, too many thoughts swirling through my exhausted brain. We had been flying for over a day, we hadn't stopped at all, not even to eat. We couldn't risk stopping right now when Ari was on our tail. I felt my eyes starting to close, my mind growing foggy. I felt horrible, my heart pounded against my ribs and thundered in my ears. I was drained, my muscles begging to stop moving, my stomach feeling sick. I couldn't go on much longer, but what about the others? Was it just me feeling this way? I looked up at Max as she coasted on an updraft of air, her wings beating strong still. The kids even seemed to be going strong, while I was collapsing behind them. My mind didn't even register it as my eyes rolled up in my head and I blacked out, falling out of the sky…**_

I lurched up as my heart pounded in my chest, feeling like it was going to explode. I sat up and looked around at what was going on, trying to forget my nightmare. I felt like I was in the middle of a panic attack, but I gulped it down, my heart starting to slow down finally. Max was leaning up against the wall of the cave, the fire still dancing around on the half charred logs. It had warmed the area up pretty well, the rain had stopped, and everyone else was still asleep. Max looked up at me, her face growing concerned.

"You ok?" She asked, standing up and making her way over to me. She sat down next to me. I nodded, sighing a deep breath out.

"Yeah, just a nightmare." I said, lying back down. The fire felt good, but I still felt hungry. My stomach gnawed at my ribs painfully. I closed my eyes, letting the fires warmth lull me back to sleep, Max still rubbing my shoulder.

…

Max POV

I rubbed Fang's shoulder lightly, him finally starting to relax under my touch as he fell asleep again. The sun had just started to rise but I wouldn't wake everyone up till around 8. We'd continue flying up towards California, were it was warmer. I looked down at Fang as the fires light danced across his tired face. His dark hair lay across his closed eyes, his steady breathing being the only sound in the cave besides the crackle of the fire. The suns light was beginning to come into the cave, we would have to get moving soon. I looked into the fire and tried to think of what our lives would be like a few weeks from now. Would we still be on the run? Would we be dead? Would we be finally ok, and safe in this hectic world? Nothing but time could answer those questions. I lay down next to Fang and sighed, closing my eyes finally…


	18. Chapter 18

_18_

…

Ari sat on a branch of the large tree overlooking the Arizona desert. Though it wasn't much of a desert now, the monsoon season had rolled in and had perked everything up. The sky was gray and full of storm clouds, blocking out most of the sun and its warm rays. The ground was dark with the moisture, most of the plants colored a dark green and yellow. Ari was here to find the flock; he knew that they were in the area very close, less than a mile away. He raised up his binoculars that Jeb had designed to pick up heat signals. So far he wasn't picking up anything, just the faint rays of sun that were able to penetrate through the thick cover of clouds. But suddenly, his lens was filled with red and a large impact hit his goggles, forcing them against his face. He fell backwards violently, catching himself on the trunk with a clawed hand.

"What are you doing here!?" Fang's angry voice suddenly yelled. Ari pulled the goggles away from his face, blood trailing down his face where it had cut into him. Fang was flying above the tree, gliding in close as he tried to find an opening to attack. Ari stood up on the branch, putting the goggles away into his pack and then jumped out of the tree. Fang shot away from him as he nearly grabbed his arm. Ari beat his wings hard, trying to catch up to Fang, but Fang was sleek and fast, his wings carried him higher and higher into the sky at blazing speed. Fang's wings suddenly snapped out wide, nearly stopping him instantly, he turned his body and dropped like a stone straight past Ari.

"Get back here!" Ari growled angrily, swiping a clawed paw past Fang, just barely missing him. Ari flew straight down, towards Fang. It was a game of chicken. They were falling at 200 miles an hour, but Fang was very talented at this kind of stunt work. He knew exactly how to pull up and at what time to do it; Ari had no idea and was very inexperienced. Ari was catching up to Fang now, his wings pumping hard to pick up more speed. They were coming in close to the ground, Ari was becoming worried now. Fang still flew straight down, his wings tucked in tight against his back.

"You can't fly forever!" Ari yelled angrily, but Fang ignored him. Suddenly Fang's wings snapped open, he shot straight forward, 20 feet above the ground. It was too close to slow down in time, Ari clumsily tried to backbeat his wings but it was too late. He crashed into the ground at 100 miles an hour, skidding and bouncing along the ground. Ari lay on his back, slowly sitting up and pulling the thorns out of his body from where he had collided with the cactus. The dust slowly cleared and he could see Fang flying high above him, circling above where he had crashed landed. He tucked his wings in tight and dropped like a stone, straight for Ari. Ari got to his feet but just as Fang collided into him, his wings out wide.

"What are you doing here?" Fang yelled, punching Ari across the face hard, cracking a tooth. Ari caught his next punch and then kicked Fang in the stomach hard, him now being able to breathe for a few seconds. Ari grabbed him and threw him to the ground, stomping a foot onto his chest.

"To get you." Ari growled, grabbing Fang's neck, cutting off his airway. He'd wait till Fang passed out, and then take him back to the school like Jeb wanted. 30 seconds went by and Fang began to weaken, his arms finally dropping to the ground, his eyes closing. Ari released him and then stood up straight, groaning and popping his shoulders. Fang was stupid to try and confront him alone; Ari was too strong for him. Ari picked him up and then took to the air, flying towards the school.

…

Max POV

Fang had gone out to get more firewood, but that was over an hour ago and he still hadn't returned. I was starting to get worried now, what if something had happened?

"Nudge, you come with me. Everyone else stay here." I said, Nudge standing up and following me to the edge of the cave. I needed her to tell me where Fang had been and where he might have gone. We flew high into the sky, I scanned for anything that could give us clues.

"Max, there." She pointed at a huge skid mark in the ground below us, a cactus was uprooted and a few black feathers littered the ground. I instantly grew worried as we flew down towards the area. I could see the footprints, there were two sets. Nudge knelt down while I followed the tracks, them ending at a point. Whoever was here could fly, and had been twice Fang's size. Anger and fear instantly ignited inside me as Nudge confirmed my hunch; Ari and Fang had fought here, but Fang had passed out.

"Crap." I groaned, turning back to face Nudge. "We'll have to track them down, they couldn't have gotten far." I said and jumped into the air, Nudge following me. We'd get the flock and then start flying after Ari, he had left a chemical trail that Nudge could follow at least.

…

Fang POV

I woke up with a massive head ache, and also strapped down to a metal table on my back, which was quite uncomfortable. I looked around, squinting past the overhead lights. I was in the middle of a room with no windows and just a single door. I couldn't hear anything, which made me nervous. What was going on? What had happened? The last thing I could remember was seeing Ari in a tree with a pair of goggles glued to his face, which I promptly smashed into him. I froze as I heard the single door open and close, a man walking up to the side of the table.

"Glad to see that Ari didn't completely kill you." I recognized the voice as Jeb Batchelder, the mad scientist that had created all of us in the first place. My fists clenched, I glared up at him as he raised a needle, tapping the side of it to get the air bubbled out. The tip glinted in the light of the overhead lights.


	19. Chapter 19

_19_

…

Fang POV

Wherever I was now, it was hell. Jeb had gotten in into his head that we all didn't work hard nearly enough and now we only ever got breaks if we collapsed and passed out. When I say we, I mean me and all the other experiments in this ungodly place. Every window was sealed with cast iron bars, every door had at least ten high tech locks, and every corner of the room was guarded by whitecoats who were armed. There was no chance of escape from this place now, only if it was severely compromised by something.

I was desperately trying to keep going but my body was quitting on me. I had been running for hours nonstop, done mazes all this morning; I couldn't go on much longer. Everything was out to either hurt or kill me; everyone in this place was armed with at least a tranq-gun. I felt like my head would explode from all the constant fear and trying to run from all the danger everywhere. My legs felt like jelly, I couldn't stand up very well let alone run. I tripped over my ankle as my other leg bashed into it, making me fall. I caught myself on my hands but the treadmill underneath me shot me back into the metal wall behind me. I jumped back up, my side rubbed raw from the rotating belt and my wrists killing me from the impact.

"Hey!" I faintly heard someone's voice yell but I was already gone. I feel to my knees as they buckled and I fell forward, unconscious before I even hit the ground.

Max POV

We had been flying for hours but besides our efforts, we had to stop and wait out a storm. The rain and wind was so violent that we couldn't even see where we were going, let alone fly to the school. We had taken shelter in the forest below us, each of us in a separate tree and huddled up underneath the thick branches in an attempt to get dry. The wind whistled through the leaves and rocked the trees, the rain pelted down on us with no mercy, and the wind chill froze us to the bone. All I wanted to do was find Fang and just have us all be safe for once…

…

Fang POV

I woke up strapped to a table in an empty room with no light or windows. I could hear the people moving in the room though; my eyes just wouldn't adjust properly in this light. Someone walked up next to me and mumbled to another person that I was awake.

"We shall now proceed." I heard one say and I started to panic. What was going on? Where was I? I pulled hard against the straps, they were Velcro but I could still get out if I tried hard enough. A light was suddenly flicked on, an overhead lamp used for operating tables. I shut my eyes, blinded temporarily.

"You are listed for termination." One of the whitecoats said behind his face mask and I instantly arched by back as hard as I could, breaking my right arm free of the restraint. They were going to euthanize me with an injection, the kind used for death row in prison. They instantly started freaking out as I ripped my other arm free. I didn't care that my wrists were in severe pain or that I was trapped in this room, these whitecoats would die before I did. I jumped off the table, nearly falling as my legs were still slightly strapped down. I broke free and slammed my fist into the nearest whitecoat. I then grabbed the syringe off of the table next to the operating table I was strapped to and plunged its needle into the second whitecoats neck. His eyes were large in terror as I pushed all its contents into his veins. I tossed down his limp body and turned to the third whitecoat.

"You will die anyway out there; we were only doing you a favor!" He yelled but I ignored him, slamming him against the wall with one hand on his chest. I grabbed the keys out of his pocket and then turned towards the door. In a furry I kicked down the locked door, surprising many whitecoats on the other side. I jumped into the air and fly up to the ceiling. I had to find the main entrance to this place, and then I could get out. My eyes locked onto the huge double doors and I flew down towards it. I felt a stinging pain in my left wing as I unlocked the doors with the keys. I reached around and pulled the dart out of my wing, its contents already rushing through my veins.

"Shit." I muttered and raced outside. It was pouring rain and dark out, around midnight. I jumped into the air best I could and rocketed skyward. I had to get as far away as possible before I passed out from the tranquilizer. I could feel myself getting dizzy; I was already two miles from the school. As I fought to stay awake, I spotted a small road going through the small forest. My wings refused to work any longer; I was falling straight towards that road, a pair of headlights speeding towards me. I hit the ground next to the road, the sound of squealing tires filling my ears as I blacked out.


	20. Chapter 20

_20_

…

I always loved driving on this road, but not when it was pitch black out and pouring rain. My windshield wipers were going full speed, my headlights shining on the wet blacktop as the rain poured down on my small vehicle. My radio played softly and I tried to think of how my day had gone today. But then something caught my eye, something in the sky that was falling at a great rate of speed. I panicked as it came hurdling down towards me and I stomped on the breaks. The things hit the ground hard next to the road, 20 feet from me. I stopped the car and sat there, trying to figure out what had just fallen. I got out of the car, leaving the headlights on. The rain poured down as I walked towards the thing that fell from the sky. As I got closer, I suddenly noticed a teenager lying on the ground in a large skid mark by the side of the road. He had dark black hair and olive skin, a bunch of cuts and bruises lining his body. But what I instantly noticed was the large black wings.

"Hey." I said but the kid was out cold, the rain had also soaked him. I sighed and bent down, picking him up carefully into my arms. A friend of mine, Valencia, had told me about the rumored flying bird kids. I was too curious to pass this opportunity up. I brought him back to my car and lay him across the back seat, carful to keep him steady so that I didn't hurt him any more than he was already. I then jumped back into the front seat and took off, excited about getting home so I could get a better look at him. How would he react when he woke up? Could he talk like a normal human? I'd keep him in the basement; it at least had a lock on the door and had a cot he could sleep on.

…

I carried the boy down to the basement and set him down on the cot. I had half my basement closed off with a plexiglass wall and locked door so that I could use it as a laboratory for Valencia whenever she came over. Yes I know, I'm crazy but oh well. I stood next to the cot and looked the kid over. He was very thin, his wings were folded up neatly, and his body was covered with scars as well as new cuts and bruises. He had been through a beating before I got a hold of him. I jumped slightly as he moved; groaning and his eyes flickering open. They locked onto me instantly and I jumped as he leapt off of the cot, standing a distance away from me.

"Whoa, you're awake!" I said excitedly and he glared at me, hatred showing in his eyes like a warning. I frowned and took a step towards him, he visibly grew tenser.

"Where am I?" He demanded, his voice deep and angry.

"At my house, you wouldn't by any chance know a Valencia Martinez would you?" I asked, hoping to prove those rumors true once and for all. He glared at me, not saying another word. "You seem hurt, can I help at all?" I took a few steps towards him and he instantly backed off, his glare intensifying. I could see the slight limp he had and how thin he was.

"Why am I here?" He demanded, gritting his teeth and glaring at me.

"You fell out of the sky or something earlier, you landed in front of my car. I picked you up and brought you here so you could rest." I tried to explain but his glare remained.

"Just leave me alone." He growled and watched me as I backed out of the area, shutting the door behind me.

"I'm only trying to help. If you won't let me, you'll stay in here." I said, trying to make him change his mind, and his aggressive behavior.

"That's better than staying in the same room as you." He spat, shooting a death glare towards me. "I'll get out of here on my own, so get out of here before I punch your face in." I sighed and headed upstairs. Maybe my husband could chance the kids mind, he was normally good with kids.

"Dave? I got a kid downstairs, he had some kind of an accident but he won't let me help him, could you come down and take a look?" I asked, walking into his room. He looked up from his laptop and nodded, closing it.

"What kind of an accident?" He asked as I led him downstairs. I saw the kid pacing around the room, his wings slightly unfolded behind him.

"So you've brought backup?" He growled, his fists clenching at his sides as he watched us. Dave looked at me with a questioning look as I unlocked the door. He went inside and I locked it again behind him. I took out my phone and texted Valencia.

_I have a bird kid here, you better come take a look, he's very aggressive. _

"Hey man, what's the big problem here?" Dave tried to talk to the teenager but he only paced back and forth, keeping a good distance between them.

"I gotta get out of here; you guys are wasting my time!" The teenager yelled, his voice sounding panicky. "I have to go back."

"You're not going anywhere until we make sure you're ok." Dave said, taking a few steps forward.

"Yeah, some people you are. You have me locked in a basement!" The kid yelled again. Dave walked towards the kid again, this time with confidence, reaching his hand out to grab the teens arm.

"We're trying to help you." Dave said but as he reached for the kids arm, the teenager grabbed it and wrenched it behind his back and shoved upward, completely dislocating Dave's arm with a loud pop.

"Dave!" I yelled as he groaned and fell to his knees, his good arm holding his back. The teen kicked him over and then glared back up at me.

"Open the door, or he's dead." The teenager's black eyes bore into mine, hatred and pain swirling around in them.

…

Valencia POV

I got a text from one of my friends saying that she had a bird kid locked in her basement and fear and outrage instantly flooded through me. From what it sounded like, she could have Fang locked up. But unfortunately I was in Arizona, she lived in California. Fang may be stuck with her for two days. My phone buzzed and I looked down at it, getting into the front seat of my car in the process.

_The bird kid has dislocated Dave's arm, I have him sedated for now. _

Oh god, things are getting hectic over there now. I started the car and instantly started driving. The sooner I got there the better…

…

I had rushed in through the door and slammed it behind me. I had to get control of this kid before he did anymore damage. I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him, kicking his knee out so that he would fall. I had some training from my military background, but this guy knew how to play dirty. He didn't fall, but instead elbowed me hard in the stomach and then bashed my kneecap with his foot. I almost fell but managed to get the needle into his neck in time. After a few seconds of struggling, he fell to the ground out cold. I sighed and knelt down next to Dave who was clutching his arm still.

"Let's get you to the hospital." I said, helping him to his feet. I opened the door again and then locked it behind us, turning out the light. I'd deal with him later.


	21. Chapter 21

_21_

…

Dave was in the hospital, I had gone back to the house to check up on this crazy teenager. Why was he so aggressive for? We had done nothing to hurt him. But either way he'd pay now, he had dislocated Dave's shoulder pretty badly. I went down to the basement and slammed the door behind me, making the kid jump. He was standing by the cot but was now glaring at me, hatred and anger swirling in his eyes.

"What do you want?" He growled, me standing by the doors, my arms crossed and glaring right back at him. His black shaggy hair lay slightly in front of his evil black eyes, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Why did you hurt Dave?" I demanded, his face instantly turning into a smirk.

"Why would I not?" He looked at me, his eyes flickering in the low light of the basement. It was getting cold down here; this was the only room in the house that didn't have air conditioning. In this now winter climate, it got pretty cold down here.

"What are you?" I asked, his gaze breaking away from mine. He looked towards the cot behind him.

"I think that's pretty obvious, don't you?" His voice was deep but also casual, like he was just hanging out. This was a game to him. "I gotta get out of here though, lady. You don't know what you're messing with."

"I know all too well." I glared at him but it didn't faze him at all. "You're not leaving unless I say so." I turned to leave. I'd keep him down here until things starting to change, be it a week if it needed to. He wouldn't eat or even see the light of day until I got my way.

…

Valencia POV

I didn't pull up into the driveway until 2 days after I had started driving. I really hoped that nothing else had happened since I talked to Mandy, that was the lady's name. She was known for having a temper and not understanding the full picture. I got out of my car and headed up to the front door, the snow already starting to fall. It was dark out, the only light being the porch lights. I waited for Mandy to answer the front door.

"Mandy?" I called out and I heard running footsteps.

"Yes, I'm coming!" She opened the door and let me inside, a smile on her face like always.

"Now what is going on down in the basement?" I demanded, putting my things by the kitchen table. I could smell the pumpkin pie she was cooking in the oven; its lovely smell was wafting all around the house.

"I have a teenage boy with black wings, he's very aggressive. He dislocated Dave's arm yesterday morning." She explained and fear instantly seeped into my heart. She had Fang trapped downstairs in the basement and he'd already attacked Dave. She opened the door to the basement and we went down, I was dreading at what I might see.

"You." I instantly recognized Fang's voice as he looked up at me. He was standing by a cot in the corner of the basement, only that part of the basement was cut off by the plexiglass walls. I stood by the door as Mandy stood next to me. Fang was very thin; it was the first thing that I noticed.

"He never acts this way around me or Dave when we come down here." Mandy said with a frustrated tone to her voice. I looked down at her as she shook her head.

"You have him locked up in the basement." I sighed, looking back up at Fang. He had his hands in his jean pockets; the hoodie he was wearing was unzipped, the black t-shirt having a tear in the side and was dusty.

"What do you want?" Fang asked me. His eyes had changed from their evil glare to curiosity and also worry. I sighed, finishing my analysis of what had happened here.

"Open the door." I told Mandy and she instantly looked up at me shocked.

"No! He'll attack you!" She argued but I frowned.

"I know what I'm doing. Open the door." I said and she sighed, hitting the unlock button. Fang already had a foot out behind him, he was prepared.

…

Fang POV

Max's mom was here? Jeez, that was a shock, all the other lady did was talk about her anyway. At least I knew Valencia. As she opened the door, worry starting to grow inside me. I didn't know if I could trust her or not, she was friends with the other crazed lady. But then again, all she did was help the flock. So long as she did that, I would trust her…

…

Valencia POV

I walked into the cage, Mandy slamming the door behind me. I could see Fang tensing as I got closer, he glanced behind him a little as he backed up a step.

"Hey, you've been through hell haven't you?" I asked him and he looked up at me. He looked exhausted.

"Yeah." He muttered, glancing past me and towards Mandy.

"Don't worry, she's just a friend."

"Is that a good thing?" Fang smirked and I smiled, relaxing as I knew that he was at least trusting me a little.

"At times." I said and glanced back at Mandy who was standing there, her mouth wide open.

"He attacked Dave!" She shouted and I looked back at Fang with a questioning look.

"The guy is twice my size and is trying to grab me, what am I supposed to do?" Fang said, his voice having a warning tone. I sighed, reaching out my hand. Fang pulled away instantly but stopped himself, letting me pat his shoulder.

"Come on, we're going back to my place." I said and he nodded, sighing what sounded like a breath of relief. Mandy unlocked the door, still grumbling to herself about how it wasn't fair.

"I saved you!" She shouted, taking a step towards Fang. I grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Calm down." I told her and she shrugged me off, going upstairs. I looked back at Fang as he zipped up his jacket, putting his hands in his pockets. As we walked upstairs, I caught a whiff of that lovely smelling pumpkin pie. We walked into the kitchen, Fang standing by the door with an uneasy look.

"We're headed out. Call me if anything else happens." I told her as we walked out the door. The porch lights flicked on, the snow still falling softly from the dark sky. We walked back to my truck and I stopped to unlock the doors. Fang stood by the passenger side, shivering slightly. The snow was catching in his black hair as he watched the house.

"Get in." I told him and he opened the door, hopping inside. "You're lucky I got here when I did."

"Yeah." He muttered, putting the seatbelt on.

"What exactly happened?"

"I got out of the school but they got me with a tranq-dart. I fell in front of her truck apparently and she took me to her house. I woke up in the basement three days ago." He tried to explain best he could but I could see him starting to drift off.

"Hmm…sounds rough." I sighed and started the truck. I turned on the air conditioning onto full blast, warming us both up. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes." He said instantly. He was at the school for god only knows how long, broke out, crash landed, then was stuck with Mandy for three days, he was probably starving. It was a no wonder he was thin.

"I'll get us something on the way." I told him and he nodded, leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes. "Don't worry."


	22. Chapter 22

_22_

…

Fang POV

My stomach growled painfully and I folded my arms over it, my head still leaning against the window. At least I was warm now. I was always feeling so cold lately, I didn't know why. The vibrations of the car kept me from falling asleep but I still kept my eyes closed. I never thought I'd see the day, but thank god that Valencia got there when she did. I don't know if I'd make it through another day in that basement without killing someone or destroying the stupid cage I was stuck in. I opened my eyes, watching the highway roll by and the other cars zip by, the light snow sticking to the window pane. My mind drifted off to the flock and where they were, what they were doing in this freezing weather. Were they ok? Did they need me? All these questions swirled my mind but my exhaustion and hunger would always drag me back down again. I was so tired, I could barely stay awake.

"What do you want to eat?" Valencia's voice drifted into my head, I looked over at her.

"Anything." I muttered, sighing deeply and closing my eyes again. "Anything that is edible."

"I'll get us tacos then." She said and pulled off the highway. I leaned my head onto the window and felt myself drifting away. I sighed, finally giving into sleep…

…

I woke up from Valencia patting my shoulder. We were at a hotel; Valencia lived in Arizona so it would be a two day trip back to her place. I'd rest there, then head out to find the flock again. I opened the door and stepped out into the cold air, the snow sticking to my hair. My breath came out in foggy puffs, the light breeze chilled me even further. We headed inside and up to our single room. We'd each get a bed. Valencia turned on the light while I headed into the bathroom to take a hot shower. I locked the door and then instantly pulled off my jacket and dusty shirt. They really needed to be washed; I tossed them onto the floor. I looked up at myself in the mirror and sighed. I hardly recognized myself anymore. I was thin, my hair was overlong and was clear past my ears, and bruises lined my arms and chest.

I dried my hair off with a clean towel, finally feeling at least somewhat normal. I had on a pair of sweatpants that Valencia had brought along but I was topless so I could fully dry off. I headed out of the bathroom to find Valencia organizing her bags, the food out on the desk. I was so hungry; I instantly sat down and wolfed down every single thing I could see.

Valencia POV

Fang ate every piece of food there was, I had gotten a salad but got 20 tacos for him. He was now lying on the bed, his hands folded over his stomach. I felt bad for the poor kid; he always had to fight to stay alive. I wanted nothing more than to adopt the entire flock, but with the whitecoats always sending Erasers after them there was no way they could stay in one area for too long. I sat down on the edge of his bed and reached out my hand, patting his knee. He had his eyes closed, not even caring about my touch or my presence. He was full, had a bed to sleep in, he was happy with whatever happened from this point on so long as he felt ok. I looked over at the clock above the TV, it was 3 am. I looked back at Fang to find him watching me. His dark eyes looked into my eyes, sleepiness and curiosity filled them. I rubbed his knee, making him glance away as I smiled.

"Get some sleep; we'll start again in the morning. I'll be here if you need anything." I said, standing up. He nodded and I walked over to my own bed, sitting down on it. I watched him get under the blankets and turn onto his side facing away from me. I turned out the lights and got under the covered of my own bed and sighed. It had been a long day, I was almost as tired as Fang.

…

Max POV

We had waited out the storm but now were faced with the snow. We were sitting in a burger joint filling up again before we headed back out into the cold weather. I was growing more worried about Fang with every passing hour, but Angel continued to reassure me that he was ok, she just didn't know exactly how. At least it was warm in this place. I looked around the booth we were sitting in. Iggy sat next to me, eating so many fries he could barely breathe, Angel and Gazzy were across from me sucking down their sodas, and Nudge was next to Iggy, finishing off the last of her 5 burgers.

"Don't worry about Fang, Max. He's ok now." Angel said again for the 5 time in ten minutes. I looked over at her.

"What do you mean by 'now'?" I asked and she sighed, setting down her drink.

"He's asleep right now, but he's not hungry. Someone is with him but I'm not sure who it is." She tried to explain best she could, but it only raised more questions. Fang was ok, was asleep, and was with someone that he trusted enough to be asleep around?

"He must be with my mom. That's the only person outside of the flock that we trust that way." I said and Angel's face lit up.

"That would make sense!" She said and I smiled, chugging down the last of my Dr. Pepper. We were all done and now were going to set out again. If my hunch was right, Fang was with Valencia Martinez, my mom. We'd head towards Arizona and meet them there.

…


	23. Chapter 23

_23_

…

Fang POV

I woke up in a warm bed and it felt amazing as well as odd. I was so used to sleeping outside and always having some background noise that the hotel room felt to small and quiet. I missed having the company of the flock, even Iggy's snoring, because it at least meant that we were all together and alive. I sighed and rolled over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling of the hotel room. I folded my hands over my stomach, which was gurgling and growling at me again. I looked over at Valencia, she was still asleep. It was close to 6 am, my internal clock had woke me up due to our constant watch patterns when we were outside. I jumped as Martinez's alarm clock suddenly started to go off, making her jump as well.

"Shut up, will you." She slammed a hand on top of it and then sat up. I was already out of bed and standing by the TV watching her. "Good morning, Fang." She looked up at me. I had fallen asleep with the sweatpants on but no shirt, the room felt chilly to me. I nodded once and watched as she picked up a clean black T-shirt out of her bag, tossing it over to me.

"We have a long way to go." She said, me slipping the shirt on. I slid my wings through the premade slits and folded them back up neatly. "But first we'll get breakfast, because I know that you're probably starving." She went into the bathroom to get ready and I changed into a new pair of jeans that were clean but still worn. When Valencia came back out, we were set to go. We left the hotel room and headed towards the parking lot.

We picked up breakfast and ate along the way on the highway. I fell asleep on the door again, I felt so tired after the months on the run and away from the flock lately. I realized just how much we depended on each other; I couldn't imagine how they must be feeling right now. I'd stay at Valencia's and then send Angel a message to let her know where I was. At times I'd wake up and hang out, have small talk with Valencia but we didn't have much to talk about.

About two hours into the drive, I got an uneasy feeling, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I turned around in my seat to look around; something didn't feel right at all. Valencia noticed my uneasiness.

"What's wrong?" She had just barely gotten out before the truck in front of us hit the brakes. We didn't have enough time to stop, we rear ended the car and smashed our hood under its bed. The airbags blew in our faces, knocking me back against the seat hard. I pushed it away and instantly reached for the door handle. The door was smashed a little but I pushed it open with all my strength, my bird DNA helping me. I got out of the car stunned but ran over to Valencia's door, prying it off.

"You ok?" I asked as she got out, nodding. I turned around to see several cars stopping around us, boxing us in. How the hell did they find me?

"What's going on?" Valencia asked, worry creeping into her voice.

"Bad news. Get in the car." I said and she obeyed without question. "Follow my lead."

"Fang, what are you doing out here all alone?" Ari growled, stepping out of the first car. I stood by the car, my fists clenched and my glare shooting at him. "Where's the flock?"

"It's just me, Ari." I growled and he stopped a little ways in front of me, peering around me at Valencia.

"You have a human with you. She'll be a snack I guess." Ari said and rushed me, but I was ready. I kicked his knee and then punched his jaw as hard as I could, knocking him sideways into the car. Valencia instantly scrambled out, running towards the car Ari had left unattended.


	24. Chapter 24

_24_

…

FANG POV

I tried to keep Ari at bay as Valencia ran towards the car he had left unattended. She got into the front seat and instantly started driving, rolling forward and smashing into Ari. He was pinned under the car, I jumped into the front passenger seat. Valencia hit the gas and we sped away as fast as we could along the highway. Cars dashed to the side, trying to keep out of our way. Horns screamed in every direction as Ari's team tried to catch us.

"Get off the highway!" I yelled and she turned a hard right onto the exit ramp, flying through a red light. I heard a crash as one of Ari's cars was hit by another car at 50 miles an hour. We had to lose them somehow and then hide out somewhere. The only way we could really get rid of them completely was by killing them, but since Max's mom was here, I didn't know how we could do that.

"What if we just stopped and flew away?" Valencia tried but I shook my head. I wasn't strong enough to carry her for very far, plus Ari's team had long range rifles. We flew down the street, avoiding all the incoming cars, my mind whirring as I tried to think of a plan.

"You need to stop and run for it, I'll keep them distracted. Hide out in the main library in the city; I'll come back for you later tonight." I told her and she nodded, biting her lip. She turned to the left sharply, flying over the curb of a gas station, the bummer breaking off. She stopped and opened the door, running for her life towards the buildings. I jumped into the front seat and stomped on the gas, driving back over the curb and in the opposite direction that Ari's cars were headed. Some tried to stop me but I avoided them, swerving into oncoming traffic. Horns blared and I rode down the center turn lane, veering off onto the highway again. I'd just have to outrun them.

"Come on guys." I muttered and stomped my foot onto the gas pedal, shooting down the road at 120 miles an hour. I'd lose them with the speed, then park somewhere and fly off, they'd never know where I went.

…

Max POV

We had arrived at mom's house but found it empty. Everything sat untouched, even her bathrobe hung on the chair by the table. She hadn't been here for days, according to Nudge. I was growing even more worried now. Where were Fang and mom?

"Just hang tight guys, if they're on their way here, they'll come." I tried to calm everyone down but everybody was anxious.

"Why can't we just find them using Nudge's and Angels powers?" Iggy asked and I groaned, rubbing my forehead.

"We're all tired, let's just sleep for tonight. We'll figure things out in the morning." I said, flopping down onto the couch.

…

FANG POV

I glanced up at the rear view mirror; none of Ari's cars were behind me anymore. I sighed and veered off into the exit, quickly riding through the red lights and traffic. I couldn't afford stopping and having Ari catch up with me. I rode into an alley way and stopped the car, quickly getting out and climbing onto its hood and roof. I jumped, unfurling my wings and pumping hard. I shot up through the two buildings and into the dark sky. I'd fly to the library, pick up Valencia, and then make a plan from that point on.

I circled the library below me, watching for any signs of Ari's cars. I felt that we had lost them but you could never be too careful. I tucked my wings in and dived down behind the building. I opened up my wings, silently landing in the dark parking lot. I ran up to the building and opened up the doors. Warm air hit me as I quickly walked through the building, scanning for Valencia. I spotted her by one of the shelves for the movies. I stopped and motioned to her to follow me as she looked up at me. She nodded and walked towards the main exit doors. I ran out the door back out to the chilly parking lot. I spotted a car and walked up to it, looking around me for people. I elbowed the window, breaking it, and reached in to unlock the door. I'd hot wire it, then we could drive out of the city.

"Fang, what are you doing?" Valencia asked as she ran up beside me. I ducked my head under the dash, pulling out wires.

"Getting us a ride out of here." I muttered, connecting two wires, the engine sputtering to life. I got up and got into the driver's seat. "Get in."

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here." I sped off into the road. I'd have to follow the rules now so we didn't look suspicious. Ari's goons were probably driving around on the lookout for us both. Luckily I had also chosen a car with shaded windows, they couldn't see us but we could see them.

"Let's just head back to my house." Valencia said and I nodded, turning on the air conditioning. It was freezing outside, the warm air inside the car made me feel sleepy. I drove out onto the highway for the third time today, but at least I wasn't speeding for my life this time. I followed the other cars in front of me; nighttime had closed in, the moon already high in the sky. I looked over at Valencia who was watching the road in front of us.

"You ok?" I asked, checking behind us through the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, just a bit shocked. Is this what you guys do all the time? Run from people?"

"They weren't people. They were Erasers trying to catch us both to bring back to the school." I said, focusing my eyes on the road, but I was exhausted again.

"You guys have to run for your lives every day, it's no wonder you all are so tired all the time. We should stop at a hotel and rest for tonight." Valencia said, looking over at me. I kept my eyes on the road, trying to ignore the temptation. If we stopped this soon, Ari could catch up with us. But I was really hungry, tired, and just done with today.

"If we stop, Ari could find us again." I said, trying to keep my mind off of the idea.

"But if we don't, we'll be too tired to fight him off if he catches up with us later on." Valencia tried to convince me but I shook my head. I wasn't ready to take that chance, not now when it was just me and her.

"No, we'll stop sometime tomorrow." I said and she sighed, giving up. She leaned into the seat and watched the road in front of us. My stomach growled loudly, reminding me of how hungry I was. I couldn't stop now though, Ari could be right behind us, just following us and waiting for us to stop. He'd make his move any time, catch us and bring us back to that school. I wasn't about to take that chance.


	25. Chapter 25

_25_

…

Valencia POV

We had been driving all night. We had watched the sun set and then rise again and we were still driving. I couldn't sleep in the car though; so many thoughts were running through my head. Fang was actually a pretty good driver, but I guess you have to be in order to escape Ari's goons. I had mostly just either watched the road in front of us or leaned my head on the window, reviewing over what had happened today. I'd occasionally talk to Fang but he mostly just sat in silence, keeping his dark eyes on the road and the mirrors. The only sounds in the car was the engine humming, we didn't have a radio on or were talking most of the time. Every once in a while though, I'd hear Fang's stomach growl loudly, his jaw tensing as he watched the road. He still wouldn't head to a rest stop though; he wanted to make sure that we had lost Ari before that.

"Hey, we've been on the road for hours. Maybe we should stop now and rest up. We're both starving anyway." I tried to convince Fang, his black eyes darting over to make contact with mine. They were tired but were still clear and alert. He looked back towards the road, sighing.

"Fine. We'll head into the forest, ditch the car, and make a plan from there." He said, turning onto an exit ramp. We drove a little ways out, leaving the small town behind, and driving up the off-road paths. We'd leave the car here, set up camp, and try to sort things out. Fang parked behind a large oak tree and turned off the engine. He leaned into the car seat, reclining it all the way down, and sighing.

"We could sleep in the car tonight so it's not awfully cold." I offered and Fang nodded. He sighed deeply, his eyes closed. I leaned onto the window of my car and closed my own eyes. Sleep was calling our names…

…

I slept like a rock, even though I was in a car. I only woke up when the sound of Fang's stomach growling echoed through the car, waking us both up.

"Someone's hungry." I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. I looked over at Fang who was sitting up. He sneezed, shook his head, and then looked around at the area we had parked in. It was night now since we had slept all day in the car. Huge trees surrounded us, but they were all bare and dead. A chilly breeze blew, rustling the leftover dead fall leaves on the ground. It was the beginning of winter, it was already freezing outside. The moons soft light glowed through the trees, casting its shadows everywhere. I opened the door to the car and stepped out, zipping up my jacket tighter as the chilly breeze hit me.

"Can you set up a fire?" Fang asked me, walking around the front of the car. The breeze blew his shaggy hair into his dark eyes, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do?" I asked.

"Get us something to eat and to check out the area." He said and I nodded, handing him my wallet. We had passed many stores on the way here, he could find something easily. "I'll be back in an hour." I watched as he jumped into the air, unfurling his wings, and took off into the sky. He flew past the trees and I lost sight of him. I sighed and got to work on collecting the firewood.

…

A little less than an hour later, I had built a steady fire and was waiting for Fang to return. I heard wing beats in front of me but I still couldn't see Fang. The moon had fully risen and it was chilly out, thank god we had this fire. I spotted Fang flying in, his wings out wide as he slowed down to land. He touched down and then folded up his wings, walking over to me. He set bag of cheeseburgers down next to me.

"Ta-da." He said, taking out 5, leaving two for me. I thanked him and we instantly got to eating. I couldn't help but notice though how Fang continued to scan the area as he ate; his eyes quickly darting to each section of the surrounding trees.

"We'll sleep in the car; I'll lock the doors so nothing bothers us." I told him, trying to ease his nerves.

"I'll take first watch." He said anyway though, gulping down his third burger. I had finished mine and was now tending the fire with a thick stick. We were 20 minutes out of the city at least, this area was secluded enough.

"I think this area is pretty far off, is it necessary?" I asked but he didn't respond, answering my question for me. Fang leaned an elbow onto his knee, gazing into the fire.

"I wonder where the flock is." He muttered. I looked over at him. His eyes looked tired and sad, the fires flames danced in his black eyes as he watched them.

"How did you guys get separated?" I asked and he blinked, thinking.

"We had just left your house; it got to raining pretty hard. We took shelter in a cave; I went out to collect firewood. In the morning, I had gone out to collect more firewood but ran into Ari. We fought, I lost, and he brought me back to the school. I did some tests, ran a ton, but then they said I was enlisted for termination and I panicked. I bust out but they got me with a tranq-dart, I collapsed in front of your friend's car. She took me, you found me, and then Ari attacked us. Now we're here."

"Wow, rough couple of weeks." I sighed and he nodded. He sighed deeply and looked off past the fire and into the dark woods. "Maybe we should get some sleep?"

"Sure." Fang muttered, standing up. He walked over to the fire, kicking the logs over to put out the fire. He stomped the coals out and then we headed towards the car. We'd sleep here, then continue on in the morning.

…

Fang POV

I was on my guard instantly as I began to hear things outside the car. Twigs snapping, bushes rustling, faint voices. I tapped Valencia's shoulder to wake her up, my eyes still trained on the forest through the windows. My glance shot up to the rear view mirror as some movement caught my eye.

"Stay here, do not move." I said in a firm voice, Valencia nodding. I pushed open the door, her locking them. I clenched my teeth as I saw the eye shine of something out by the trees. I was standing upright, way bigger than I was.

"When are you gonna ditch the one thing that's weighing you down, Fang." The gravelly voice muttered from the trees. I glared as my excellent eyesight picked out Ari in the shadow of a tree. He stepped out, the moonlight revealing that he was armed with a grenade launcher. I glared at him evilly, walking around the car and banging my hand on the hood. I motioned for Valencia to get out. If Ari shot a grenade into the car, it would explode.

"As soon as I know we're safe." I growled. Valencia got out and began to back up to a tree. Ari lifted up the gun and I instantly jumped into the air, unfurling my wings. The grenade hit the trunk of the car, exploding on impact. A fire ball instantly whooshed up, nearly engulfing me. It singed a few of my feathers but I was ok. Valencia had taken cover behind the trees. I shot towards Ari, kicking my foot into his neck as hard as I could. He lost his gun, but I still kicked it to the side so he couldn't reach it. I then kicked him in the crotch, a dirty blow, but it gave me the edge. As Ari doubled over, I bashed his nose into my knee.

"Fang!" I heard Valencia yelling and I turned to look for her. She was trapped between two Erasers, each one had an arm. I ran over, kicking ones knee out and slugging the other across the face. They both jumped back up and tackled me. I heard a gunshot go off and I ducked, but then realized that it had come from Valencia. I looked as one Eraser fell to the ground dead. I bucked the other off and knocked his lights out. It was just Ari and us now.

"Give up now and I won't hurt your little pet." Ari growled and I glared at him, standing between him and Valencia. He was walking in closer but I held my ground.

…

Valencia POV

I was panicking; these were the Erasers the flock always talked about? At least I had killed one. I was now standing behind Fang though, the massive last Eraser moving in closer. I had noticed the gouge out of Fangs shoulder that was bleeding, his slight limp.

"Why can't you just give in for once? This will only go on forever otherwise." Ari growled but Fang growled right back, his wings opening up slightly.

"So long as I am still breathing, you are not touching her." He spat, his eyes glaring straight into Ari's. Ari only stepped in closer, not heading the warning. Fang tensed, his hands coiling into fists. His foot moved out behind him a little, getting into the position to spring forward.

"There's no use. It's over." Ari had just gotten out but Fang shot forward, colliding into the huge monster. He punched his chin hard, making Ari's head fly back. He then round house kicked his chest, Ari fell to the ground. Fang raised his foot, stomping onto Ari's throat. Ari grabbed his leg and tried to twist him off but Fang had his wings extended out fully, giving him the extra balance that he needed. Fang dropped onto Ari, getting him into a choke hold.

"Valencia, the gun." Fang said and I blinked in surprise. I walked carefully to Fang's side, handing him the still hot piece. He cocked it, put the barrel onto Ari's forehead.

"It won't kill me Fang; you're only wasting your time!" Ari tried to move but Fang had his arms pinned.

"So long as you're out of the picture, we're safe." Fang pulled the trigger. Ari stopped moving and Fang got up instantly.

"Oh my god," I muttered but Fang pushed me forward. We both ran for cover into the forest, him throwing the gun down.

"I can't carry you, you'll have to run." Fang said, jumping into the air and unfurling his wings. "I'll be above you, just keep running forward."

"Ok!" I called up to him, my heart pounding against my chest. Fang had killed Ari with great ease, even took pleasure in it. I would hate to have him coming after me like that…


End file.
